


The Shape of You

by N7rmandy



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Gender-neutral Reader, Mute Vision, Other, POV Second Person, Reader-Insert, Slow Burn, The Shape of Water AU, eh more like medium burn, no y/n
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-14 08:54:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29168418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/N7rmandy/pseuds/N7rmandy
Summary: As a custodian in a government facility, you often went over-looked and under-appreciated. It doesn’t help that you don’t get to know half of what goes on in the building. But when you’re chosen as part of a small cleaning crew that’s granted access to the facility’s newest asset, you form a connection that proves far more important than your job.
Relationships: Vision (Marvel)/Reader
Comments: 29
Kudos: 77





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I’ve compiled the existing chapters from my collection of (mostly) one-shots, so you may have seen the first few parts already. If not, welcome aboard!
> 
> Also, I know it says Shape of Water AU, but you literally don’t have to have any idea what the movie is in order to read this. I only halfways end up following that plot anyway.

A harsh beep sounded from the terminal as you clocked in for the day. It was like your second alarm clock. One in the morning to get you out of bed, a second one when you got to work to get you out of your head. No amount of coffee would make you properly awake this early, but you were getting used to it. A government job expected you to work on a strict schedule, even if you were just a custodian.

You’d been working here for a couple months now. Supposedly this place had some pretty secret government projects going on, but you hadn’t seen anything interesting just yet. It must be true though, considering how much screening you went through when you applied for the job. Not to mention the amount of forms you had to sign. No employer went to that much trouble unless they had something to hide.

You didn’t expect today, however, would be the day things finally got interesting.

You made your way to one of the many maintenance rooms to grab your gear for the day. Before you got there, however, you ran into your boss, Ronnie.

He was a skittish man, always nervous about something or other. He was also incredibly annoying. He’d do anything to get attention from the higher-ups. He was always gunning for a promotion, though he had been in this position far longer than you’d worked here. Most of what you knew about him came from break room gossip.

“Different assignment for you today. It’s a big one. You _cannot_ mess this up.” Ronnie shuffled the folders and loose papers in his hands. He was always carrying papers it seemed. You had no idea what any of them were for. You were half convinced it was just his way of looking ‘professional.’

“Yes sir,” you droned, already tired of Ronnie’s crap. He was your superior though, and you couldn’t risk being snappy with him. “What will I be doing?”

“Report to Lab 205. You and a handful of others will be the only custodial staff allowed in there for the foreseeable future. There’s a _very special_ asset about to moved here and it’s extremely important that we don’t screw this up.”

Lab 205 was on the second basement level. You’d only been down there a handful of times and you certainly weren’t familiar with it.

“All due respect sir, but am I the best choice for something like that? I’ve only been here a couple months and—“ Before you could finish your thought, Ronnie cut you off.

“Ah ah ah!” There he went again, making that God-awful sound. There wasn’t anything more condescending than the sound Ronnie made when interrupting people. “I don’t choose the people for the job, I just give them the news. Just report there in 5 minutes and someone there will tell you what to do. I’m sure if you can’t handle this, they’ll find someone more _suitable_ for the job.”

And with that, he simply walked away. What an ass. One day he was gonna get smacked in the face. You didn’t let it get to you too much, however, as he did this with just about everyone on the custodial staff.

You made your way quickly to the elevator, silently hoping you remembered the way to the lab.

-

You made it with no time to spare. Turns out, you _didn’t_ remember the way to the lab. You had just spent the last 4 and a half minutes frantically combing the floor for the right room. Why did this place have to be so _damn big_?

Several faces turned toward you when you burst into the room, sweaty and out-of-breath as you had been running. There were four other people in the room wearing custodial uniforms, all giving you looks of disapproval. Their attention was brought back to the front of the room fortunately, when a sharply dressed woman cleared her throat loudly.

 _‘Oh great, another Ronnie,’_ you thought. You suppressed the urge to roll your eyes and stood at attention as she spoke.

“As I’m sure you’ve been told, the five of you are going to be the sole custodians responsible for the care of this lab for the time being.”

It was only now that you fully noticed the size of the lab. The ceiling was higher than every other room in the building (that you’d been in) and the whole space was filled with so many computers and monitoring stations that there was hardly any walking room left. At the back of the room was a glass wall of some kind, separating you from the back wall. Behind the glass was mostly empty space aside from some complex-looking machinery.

“The new asset is being brought in tomorrow. That means you have today to get this place _spotless_. This is easily the most important thing ever to be housed in this facility so I expect all of you to maintain _complete_ secrecy. Anything you see in this room from now on is completely confidential. As I’m sure you all understand, any divulgence of confidential information will result in immediate termination and legal action will be taken.”

You exchanged a few nervous glances with your coworkers but said nothing. You had no idea what you were getting into.

The woman’s expression suddenly turned chipper and she clapped her hands together cheerfully. “Well! I expect nothing short of perfection from you all. Now get to work!” With that, she turned and exited the lab.

-

It had been a long, grueling day. Cleaning that lab had proven far more work than you expected. Every time you thought you were done with an area, a supervisor would tell you to do it again, better this time.

But now you were home, stretched out on the sofa to relax your aching muscles. You lived in a small apartment uptown. You tried to avoid the word ‘dingy,’ opting instead for ‘modest.’ Sure the place was small, there was a spider problem, the temperature was always off slightly, and plenty more problems you’d gotten used to but it was yours. There was nothing better than going home to a space to call your own at the end of the day, even if it _was_ dingy.

You worked long shifts, leaving little time for activities in the evenings. On the plus side, you got long weekends. This meant your nightly routine consisted mainly of eating, showering, watching TV for a little while, and going to sleep. Today was no different.

However, as you lay in bed, you found your mind wandering. You thought about this ‘asset’ being brought into the lab. You had endless theories about what it could be. You were secretly hoping it was a live alien. How cool would that be? A stream of ideas fit for a sci-fi novel ran through your head until you inevitably fell asleep.

-

So it wasn’t an alien. At least, you didn’t _think_ it was.

You and the other four custodians had been permitted to be in the lab when the asset was brought in, much to your surprise. Presumably, they thought that if you got to see the ‘asset’ right away, you’d be less likely to snoop later. The five of you stood in the corner, enthralled by the scene in front of you.

A couple men in military uniforms had wheeled in some kind of container, large enough to hold a person. Through the glass on the front, you almost thought the thing inside was a person. But when you got a better look, you could tell it was something inhuman.

The figure inside had their eyes shut. At first glance, their face appeared human, until you noticed that their ‘skin’ was a deep red and green with clearly artificial design. With all the commotion, you unfortunately couldn’t see much more than that.

A man in a lab coat was fussing over every little thing. He would snap at the men pushing the container, saying things like ‘this is worth more than you’ll make in your lifetime’ and ‘if I find one scratch on that machine you’re both fired.’

While the man was utterly exasperating to listen to, his complaining informed you that the figure was in fact, a machine.

“It’s... an android?” You mumbled under your breath and your coworker next to you looked over.

“What’s so special about an android?” she asked, keeping her voice low so as not to get in trouble. “Hasn’t the government been building robots for years?”

Thinking about it, you realized she was right. The government had already created some fairly advanced robotics that were far from secret.

“There must be something special about this one,” you said. “Something worth studying. Maybe it’s foreign?”

Suddenly another coworker that had been listening in gasped. “Oh my God you guys,” he said, his voice trailing off.

“What? What is it?” You were surprised by his outburst and too impatient to deal with it.

“What if... what if that’s the _Avengers_ ’ android? The one that got destroyed right before they disappeared.”

If that was the case, it certainly hadn’t been destroyed. When Ultron was threatening humanity, news that the Avengers had built _another_ android to fight him was a bit upsetting to most people, the government in particular. Luckily, it worked out. The news hadn’t given a lot of details but the planet was still intact so they obviously did something right.

The government disagreed, however. They thought the Avengers needed more accountability. They tried writing up laws of sorts to control them, but it didn’t go so well. When the Avengers had tried to fight the laws, they were forced to go into hiding. At one point, a government assault team had been sent to stop them. They failed of course, though there were no casualties. Unless you counted a destroyed android. Like, _completely_ destroyed. The news footage had shown a massive explosion. The government even released an official statement saying the android could not be recovered and the rest of the Avengers escaped. Looks like the conspiracy theorists were right about this one.

While no one in the general public knew much about the android, there was still footage of it from Sokovia. At the time, you’d been impressed. Leave it to Tony Stark and Dr. Banner to build something that advanced.

If it was here now, that meant the government wanted to study it. Stark wasn’t known to like sharing his most advanced tech, and this clearly had been no exception.

You let this new information settle in as you continued watching the scene unfold.

-

The excitement settled down pretty quickly. The guy in the lab coat, who you’d learned was called Dr. Newmann, rushed from computer to computer, looking over the shoulders of the lab assistants and criticizing anything and everything. You quickly learned to tune him out. You didn’t bother his work, and he didn’t bother you.

Right now you were supposed to be checking the printers for paper and ink. They were brand new, brought in this morning specifically for this lab.

However you couldn’t help but let your eyes wander to the back of the room. The android was no longer in the container it had been transported in. It was now behind the glass wall, lying on some kind of table and connected to countless computers and machines.

When Dr. Newmann wasn’t yelling at lab assistants, he was in there, fussing over the android like it was his damn child. You could hear him drone on about the discoveries they were going to make into Stark technology. You had a sudden image of what the government could do with that sort of power, but shoved it to the back of your mind before you could dwell on it.

What you really wanted was to get a better look at the android. The other custodians’ interest had diminished rather quickly but you couldn’t help but continue to be curious. Unfortunately, you wouldn’t be able to get anywhere near that glass with Dr. Fussy over there, not even for a quick look.

Your watch beeped suddenly, signaling the time for your lunch break. That was all the distraction you needed to forget everything you were doing and leave.

-

You’d finished your lunch a little early today and decided to get back to work right away. Perhaps if you got everything done early you could go home sooner.

You were surprised to find the lab empty when you got back. All the lab assistants as well as Dr. Newmann were absent. They must all be on their lunch breaks.

The android was still in the same place, unsurprisingly. You briefly thought about going over to sneak a look, but anyone could come in at any second. You didn’t know what kind of trouble you’d be in if you got caught. They seemed to take this thing pretty seriously.

You decided to do the reasonable thing and just get back to work. You started collecting the little trash bins by many of the desks that had already filled with paper. It was amazing how many notes these guys wrote down in just a day.

As you knelt to pick up a crumpled paper that was on the floor, you noticed what looked like a drawing on one of the corners. You carefully unfolded the paper, smoothing it out on your knee. It was a sketch of the android’s face, messy, but recognizable. A bunch of notes and equations surrounded it, practically illegible. One thing stood out to you, which was a question mark with circles around it. A line connected the mark to a point on the android’s forehead. There was an indent of some kind, though you couldn’t tell if it was deliberate or if something was missing. Your main focus was on the drawing itself though. It was surprisingly detailed. You thought that whoever drew it could’ve had a future in art, maybe in another life.

Well you had managed to do the smart thing for all of thirty seconds. Now your curiosity was getting the better of you. You knew the old slang about curiosity and the cat. You also knew the ending of it.

 _‘Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back._ ’

Stuffing the paper in your pocket, you carefully approached the glass, cautious of the many wires that snaked across the floor. You couldn’t go inside. The only door in the glass was opened with a full handprint scan. Specifically, Dr. Newmann’s. Not that you wanted to go inside, anyway.

Up close, you were surprised and just how much detail the android had. Aside from the color, its face looked almost scarily human. In fact, it’s whole body seemed _organic_ in shape, for lack of a better term. Though you did recognize the odd indent in its forehead from the sketch. It definitely looked like a part was missing. Overall, it didn’t look like what you expected a robot to look like; all blocky and mechanical like in the movies. It looked like a person.

“What the hell are you doing?!” You hadn’t even realized you were practically leaning on the glass until the furious voice of a lab assistant snapped you back to reality.

“I’m s-sorry! I-I was just looking, I swear! I didn’t touch anything!” You frantically backed away from the glass.

The lab assistant marched over to you, eyeing you over before looking back towards the android. She was silent for several moments as you stood frozen in fear, expecting the worst.

When she seemed satisfied in her examination of the situation, she spoke up, “You’re lucky I wasn’t Dr. Newmann. He would’ve had you out of here faster than you could even blink.”

You let out the breath you didn’t realize you were holding. You couldn’t afford to lose this job. You especially couldn’t afford whatever lawsuit against you would ensue if they thought you had damaged anything.

“I’m sorry Ma’am. It won’t happen again.” Your voice still shook as you tried to come down from your panic.

“It better not. I may not be here next time.” Suddenly, her frown picked up into a slight grin and she glanced back and the android before turning to you again. “Although... it is pretty cool huh?”

Was she... messing with you? Was this a test?

“Y-yeah. Hey, if I can ask, that is the Avengers’ android, isn’t it?” You had to ask. If anyone was going to tell you, it was the lab assistant that just saved your job.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her smile disappeared as quickly as it had come and she turned back towards one of the computers, but if you didn’t know any better, you’d swear she’d winked at you.

There wasn’t time to question it, however, as Dr. Newmann and the others walked into the room. You returned to the trash cans as quickly and nonchalantly as possible, still wrapping your mind about what had just happened.

-

The next several days were uneventful. You kept to your duties, careful to avoid another close call. Today, however, you’d been told you’d have to stay late with two of the other custodians. Apparently, the security guard had been in an accident and you were the only last minute options. Technically, you were all trained in very basic security skills. It was mandatory for the job, partly because a lot of custodians had to stay late when almost everyone else has gone home. You guessed it was cheaper to train people the extra skills rather than hire a whole ton of security guards.

In preparation, you were drinking coffee during your afternoon break. Only the sweet embrace of caffeine was going to get you through this night. On the plus side, you were getting a ton of overtime.

It was that time of day where a large portion of the people here were starting to go home. You watched as one-by-one, the lab slowly emptied, leaving you alone with the two other custodians you’d spoken to on the day the android had been brought in.

As the night drew on, you took turns doing various tasks around the lab to keep busy. At any given time, however, somebody had to be in the actual lab itself. Right now, that was you. One of your coworkers was out walking the halls and the other had snuck outside for a cigarette. You were alone.

There were only a few lights on in the lab; just a couple of the ceiling lights as well as the main light that lit up the space behind the glass wall. It was like a spotlight shining down on the android.

It had been days now and you had no idea what they’d learned from this thing. It was still shut down. You weren’t sure if it was powered off or just straight up broken.

You turned your back on the android, slowly pacing back to the other side of the room. You barely made it a halfway, however, before a loud crash behind you nearly made you jump out of your skin.

You spun around reflexively, looking for any sort of intruder. What you saw instead was far more surprising.

The android was awake. It was also on the floor. It seemed to have fallen of the table. It sat upright, one arm braced against the side of the table. It was looking around as if dazed and you briefly made eye contact. The first thing you noticed was the dazzling artificial blue of its eyes, unlike anything you’d ever seen before. The thought was fleeting, however.

In a moment of pure panic, you dove behind a desk, pretending like the android hadn’t seen you when it most definitely had. You heard more clattering come from behind the glass. You peeked over the edge of the desk and watched as the Android seemed to struggle to stand. Now that it was on its feet, you noticed something you’d hadn’t seen before.

The android was damaged. There were gashes in its artificial skin of varying severity. It placed a hand gently on a particularly nasty looking cut on its arm and for a moment, you felt a pang of sorrow for the thing. Could it feel pain?

That was when you decided this thing probably wasn’t a threat to you. You weren’t sure what told you that exactly, but you weren’t afraid. You were intrigued, in fact. You were the first person to see the android awake.

You slowly stood up from behind the desk, once more approaching the glass.

The android tried to say something, but you couldn’t hear it. At first you thought it was because of the glass, but the android’s reaction said otherwise. It’d only appeared to say a couple words before it stopped. A confused expression crossed its face and it turned away, raising a hand to its throat tentatively. It began to speak again, but once more was silent. You couldn’t identify the look in its eyes when it turned back to you.

“Can you hear me?” You spoke up only a little, not knowing how soundproof the glass was, but also not wanting your coworker in the hallway to hear.

The android merely looked at you a moment and you assumed it hadn’t heard you. Before you could speak again, however, it nodded.

A small part of you felt overjoyed. You weren’t sure why, but the fact that you could communicate was strangely exciting. Maybe it was the fact that you, not a lab assistant or that ridiculous doctor, but you got to be there when the android woke up.

“Can you speak?” Your mind was suddenly racing and you had to restrain yourself from just spouting out endless questions.

The android frowned before shaking its head. It gestured towards its throat and you understood.

“You’re damaged...” You weren’t asking so much as simply repeating what it had been trying to say. The android nodded solemnly. You wondered how much more damage it had sustained that wasn’t visible.

“Does that-“ you gestured to your arm, mirroring the spot on the android that appeared damaged. “Does it hurt? Can you feel it?”

The android’s expression suggested that the answer wasn’t as simple as a ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ It started gesturing something with its hands and it took you a moment to realize it was miming writing.

“Oh! Are you asking for something to write with?” The android nodded excitedly. You almost turned to look for paper before stopping, your shoulders slumping in disappointment.

“I’m sorry. I can't get you paper 'cause I can’t open that door.” You pointed toward the glass door and the android followed your gaze. “Only Dr. Newmann can, and he’d never let anyone else in.”

The android approached the glass calmly and you found yourself backing up subconsciously. It raised a hand to the glass and much to your shock, it phased right through. It stopped abruptly after its hand was through the glass just past the wrist. It appeared that the damage on its arm was stopping it. The android pulled its arm back in frustration before looking back to you. It waved its hand in a way that told you to step back. You did so without question.

You only realized what was happening when the android pulled back a fist and struck the glass with a wicked punch. You reflexively flinched away at the contact but the glass didn’t move. It barely even made a sound. There was no sign of damage.

The android’s eyes were wide in shock and it struck again, the glass still not budging. A small part of you was glad, not wanting to be held responsible for a possible robot rampage. But the look on the android’s face when it realized it was trapped filled you with guilt. Despite its inhuman appearance, you easily recognized the expression as fear.

As the android took a step back, you came up with an idea. You grabbed a pen and paper off the nearest desk and approached the glass again, earning a quizzical look from the android. You took a seat on the floor, gesturing for the android to do the same.

It was still for a moment, as if deciding whether or not to trust you. It must’ve decided you weren’t a threat because it mimicked your actions, taking a seat in front of you.

You froze for a moment, realizing this was the closest you’d gotten to the android. The only other person that had been this close was Dr. Newmann. You wondered what the man would think if he saw you right now. You silently gave thanks there were no cameras in here. They had worried about them being hacked and causing a security breach.

Your attention back to the matter at hand, you clicked the pen and set both it and the paper on the floor as close to the glass as possible.

“If you can at least reach your hand through the glass, you can write on here to talk. It’s not the fanciest method of communication but it should work.”

The android reached for the pen, slowly this time, so as not to worsen its damaged arm. To your surprise, it simply wrote, _“Thank you,”_ on the paper in immaculate handwriting. Oddly, it wrote the words upside down, not needing to turn to the paper for you to read.

You didn’t have time to respond, however, as it continued writing.

 _“Where am I?”_ It asked.

“A government facility,” you said, noting the immediate look of alarm on the android. “I don’t know how they found you, but you’ve been here several days. I’m just a custodian, not a scientist. I don’t know much of what goes on around here.”

Rather than responding, the android looked back at the computers and machinery with newfound worry.

“Where did you come from?” You tried to distract it with another question.

It didn’t even need to finish writing before you knew what it was saying. _“The Avengers.”_

You muttered a soft ‘woah’ under your breath. “We wondered if that was the case. So, did the Avengers give you a name?”

You wanted to ask more about the Avengers, but you doubted you’d get many answers. This android just woke up and found out it’s in a government facility, it wasn’t likely to start spilling secrets any time soon.

The android finished writing, moving its hand to reveal _“I am Vision,”_ written on the paper. You weren’t sure what you’d been expecting, but it wasn’t that. Still, the name seemed fitting. The name reminded you of the android’s eyes. Now that you were close, you noticed not only their vibrant color, but the intricate detail in its eyes.

“That’s an interesting name. Fitting.” The android broke eye contact to write a response. Now that you knew it had a name, it didn’t feel right to keep referring to it as, well, _‘it.’_ You realized this wasn’t a simple machine. It may well be as alive as you were. In that case, it seemed appropriate to say ‘he.’

 _“It was Thor’s idea,”_ he wrote. You couldn’t help but chuckle. Somehow you found the image of the Norse god of thunder naming this robot to be quite funny. It made you realize just how little you, or anyone else for that matter, really knew about the Avengers.

Suddenly, you heard the door to the lab jiggle and panicked, grabbing the paper and sprinting over to the door.

You grabbed the door as it began to swing open to see your coworkers. Luckily, as long as you held the door open only about halfway, they couldn’t see the android— _Vision_ — behind you.

“Your shift’s up. You can go home for the night. Hey, uh, are you okay? What’s that—?” Your coworker tried to reach for the paper in your free hand but you quickly stuffed it in your pocket, trying to appear inconspicuous and failing.

“Oh just some doodles,” you said, letting out a strained chuckle. “I got bored. Hey you guys wanna give me just a minute? I need to round my stuff up and then I’ll go.” Your coworkers glanced at each other before giving you a look.

“Uh, sure, whatever you say.” You muttered a quick ‘thanks’ in response and closed the door on them without further explanation. You turned back to find Vision standing up now, watching you intently.

“I have to go.” Vision tried to gesture something but you cut him off. “There’s no time. If I’m in here much longer they’ll figure out something’s up. Dr. Newmann and the other researchers will be here in a few hours. I don’t know what they want from you but one thing I do know is that that man is crazy. He’s obsessed with this whole project.” Vision pointed at you in a questioning manner as you picked up your coat.

“I’m really sorry I’m not more helpful. I won’t be back until after the weekend. I don’t know what you’re going to do but just...” You suddenly wondered what you were thinking. Was Vision in danger? It’s not like they could hurt him, right? He’s a machine. But still, you didn’t trust the people here. And a bad feeling in the back of your mind made itself known. You stopped before you reached the door.

“Just be careful.”


	2. Chapter 2

You texted your coworker the next day. You wondered what she thought of Vision. You wondered if he even talked to her. She hadn’t gone into the lab right away after you left, so maybe she didn’t go in at all. You slightly hoped that was the case.

  
**How’d the rest of the night go?**

It took her awhile to respond, your anxiety building the entire time. You practically dropped your phone when it finally went off.

  
**Uneventful as expected. Why? You were being a bit funny last night... everything ok?**

Damn, you were hoping they hadn’t noticed anything. Luckily you had plenty of experience in making up excuses.

**Oh sorry, was just tired I think. Never worked that late before.**

**Ah no sweat. You get used to it.**

**Ha yeah. See you Monday.**

You’d never wanted it to be Monday more in your entire life. That android was far different than you could’ve imagined. You had so many questions and you’d be damned if you didn’t get answers. That may be tough once you were back on the day shift, however. The only time you’d be able to speak to him was when all of the scientists were on their lunch breaks, and you’d have to be careful. If you got caught again, odds are you’d get much worse than a slap on the wrist. Countless questions and worries were running through your head, and you knew you wouldn’t be able to solve them any time soon.

It was going to be a long weekend.

-

“Effective immediately, you three are being moved to night shift indefinitely.” Your two coworkers let out a groan but you remained silent, trying to hide the fact that you actually _wanted_ this.

“Hey!” Ronnie snapped and your coworkers stood at attention, their annoyance replaced with compliance. Ronnie was in a mood today and it showed. “Look,” he said, pushing up his glasses, only to have them fall again. “Bosses decided rather than replace the old night guard and go through all the paperwork, you three will continue filling in. After today, you’ll stick around through the night again. Starting tomorrow, you’ll no longer have to come in during the day. Just be here by 7 every night. Understood?”

“Yes sir.” You replied in unison and Ronnie took off. You made your way to the lab.

You didn’t know what to expect as you stepped inside, but calm and quiet wasn’t it. The lab assistants were mostly staring intently at computer screens and Dr. Newmann was nowhere to be found. Most surprisingly, Vision looked as if he’d never woken up. He was lying still on the exam table once more with no sign that he’d ever moved. You worried he’d been shut down again, probably by the doctor. Or worse yet, maybe they damaged him further. Perhaps he was faking it. You hoped that was the case.

All day you did your job as you were told, making sure not to arouse any suspicion. You couldn’t help but steal a glance at Vision whenever you could, however. And though most of what you heard sounded like gibberish out of a sci-fi movie, you had picked up enough of the scientists’ conversations to determine that they had no clue Vision had woken up.

Seven o’clock rolled around and all the regular employees went home, including Dr. Newmann and the assistants. Your anxiety was reaching a new high as you waited impatiently for your turn to guard the lab. You thought about offering to switch out early, but that would only make you look suspicious.

“Hey are you okay?” You nearly jumped out of your skin at the sound of your coworker’s voice, which startled you from your thoughts.

“Oh! Y-yeah I’m fine, why?” You tried your best to appear relaxed.

“You were tapping your foot really fast and you’ve been kinda jumpy,” she said, genuine concern in her voice. “You sure you’re good?”

“Just too much caffeine, I think.” You chuckled and tried to wave it off like it was nothing.

“Well it’s almost time to swap out,” she gestured at the clock on the wall. “You should sit down when you go in the lab.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that. Thanks.” Just as you stopped talking, the door to the lab swung open and your other coworker stepped out.

“You’re up,” he said through a yawn, gesturing lazily at you.

You hurried into the lab, paying no mind to the looks your coworkers gave you. Once the door was shut behind you, you waited patiently until the sound of their footsteps had receded back down the hallway.

You approached the glass with caution, not sure how to get Vision’s attention, or if you even could. Was he basically just sleeping? Could you just wake him up with a loud enough noise or something? Or maybe you’d just have to wait and hope he got up on his own. You had no clue how robots worked.

“Umm, Vision? It’s me—“ before you even finished your sentence, Vision’s eyes opened. He quickly got to his feet and approached the glass, taking a seat on the floor. He made a gesture you quickly recognized again as writing and remembered the paper and pen still in your jacket pocket.

“Oh!” You uncrumpled the paper as quickly as you could and held it out along with the pen. He took it gratefully and began writing hurriedly.

You barely had time to process what was happening before Vision stopped writing and pushed the paper back toward you.

_“Do you understand what these people want with me?”_ Vision had a troubled look, and you were questioning the motives of the people you worked for more and more.

“I- I don’t really know. Like I said, I’m just a custodian. I would assume they want to get an understanding of Stark technology?” It was as much a question as it was a statement.

Vision put his hand over his mouth for a moment as if contemplating something. It was a very human gesture, you thought. He stayed like this for a moment and you stayed silent. He seemed tense, if that was even possible for for an android.

Finally, Vision reached slowly for the paper. He held the pen still another moment as if still not sure of what he wanted to say. What he did write surprised you.

_“Can I trust you?”_

You were speechless at first. What did he mean by _“trust you,”_ exactly? And would he really just take your word for it if you said yes? He had to have thought this through. If you’re the one he’s confiding in, he must be desperate. There was only one thing you knew for sure. Behind those striking eyes were real emotions. Vision was alive, and no living thing should be subjected to this imprisonment.

“You can trust me.” The words were barely a whisper, but they were sincere. Vision seemed to understand that. Before you could ask, Vision answered the next question on your mind.

_“I need to get out of here. I need your help,”_ he wrote, underlining the last two words repeatedly. Vision knew the risk he was taking by asking you, but that risk was calculated. Something about you made it clear that you were his best chance of getting home. And besides, there weren’t a lot of other options.

“What can _I_ do?,” you stammered. “I’m just a custodian! I don’t have any sort of security clearance, I can’t work any of this tech stuff, I can’t even fight!” Your mind raced with all the ways you’d get in trouble if you tried to get Vision out. You’d be fired, interrogated, probably _killed_ afterwards or at least put in prison. This was serious stuff.

As you got more worked up, you stopped paying attention to your volume. Vision quickly put a finger to his lips and you quickly covered your mouth with your hands, silently pleading your coworker outside hadn’t heard you. After a few moments of quiet and no sign of anyone coming in, you dropped your hands.

“Sorry,” you sighed, “This is just a lot to think about. They’re real serious about what goes on here. I just don’t see any possible way out, unless we can get the Avengers here.” Vision shook his head, dismissing the idea. Even if you could contact the Avengers, they probably couldn’t risk breaking into a government facility, you figured. Vision wrote something on the paper once more, faster this time.

_“We need a plan.”_

-

You’d barely slept at all by the time Tuesday night rolled around. You tried going to bed once you got home, but your brain was too busy thinking of everything you’d spoken about with Vision. You didn’t have much in the way of a plan after just the one night, but you had the groundwork. He asked a lot of questions about the building and you even managed to draw a decent map of the place, at least how to get to the ground floor and the possible exits from there. You knew what the security was like upstairs at least. You’d also learned more about Vision and what he was capable of. Unfortunately, he was more damaged than you’d previously thought. He was also unable to fly, which no doubt would’ve been useful in escaping. You still had no clue what to do once you got outside.

You were jumpier than usual once you got to work. By now, your coworkers had stopped asking you about it. Once in the lab, you ran straight to Vision, not even needing to say anything before he was up and in his usual spot by the glass.

You brought more paper this time. You pulled a small notebook from your jacket. “Sorry I’m a bit of a mess,” you said, trying to compose yourself. “I didn’t really sleep yesterday.”

Vision leaned in to get a better look at you. Though there was still glass between you, your cheeks tinted red at the closeness. He noticed the dark circles under your eyes and his brow furrowed in concern. He gestured for the notebook and you handed it over.

_“You’re exhausted. If you need to sleep instead of working on the plan—“_ You cut him off, grabbing his hand as he wrote.

“No! I’m okay, really. This is important.” You weren’t going to let something like a little sleep stop you. You weren’t sure how much time you’d get with Vision before they put you back on the day shift. If you didn’t figure out a plan by then, this would all be for nothing. And when you thought about it, you weren’t sure you’d be able to live with yourself if Vision stayed trapped here, or worse, all because you failed.

You realized you were still holding his hand and quickly let go. The feeling stuck with you, however. You were surprised how warm Vision’s hand was. It was just barely cooler than a human’s, unlike the cold metallic feeling that you would’ve expected. His skin was even more surprising. It was actually _soft_ , almost like your own. It wasn’t quite the same texture, but still unlike any material you’d seen before.

Lost in your thoughts, Vision pushing the notebook toward you snapped you back. Realizing what had happened, you were unable to hide the color in your cheeks this time. You tried to distract yourself with the notebook.

_“Don’t push yourself too hard. I want to make sure you’re okay.”_ That wasn’t what you expected. You weren’t sure if he really cared about you that much or just wanted to make sure you could could continue working on the plan. You assumed the latter, not believing him to be the sentimental type, though you weren’t sure you liked that option.

“Really, I’m okay. Let’s just keep working.” You gave him a smile to show that you were fine, but it wasn’t convincing. Regardless, he dropped the subject and you went back to the plan. The biggest problem was the lock on Vision’s cell, as you’d begun thinking of it as. Getting Dr. Newmann’s handprint would be easier said than done.

A couple of hours went by of pitching ideas only to dismiss them. Everything seemed like a dead end. Just as you were starting to lose hope, your conversation was interrupted by the lab door opening.

You barely registered the situation before the door swung open, revealing a stunned Dr. Newmann. His expression quickly turned to fury, however, as he looked back and forth from you to Vision, who was now on his feet. You stumbled to yours as Dr. Newman stormed toward you.

“What the hell is happening here?! What did you do?!” He stopped just in front of you, effectively trapping you between him and the glass as he looked up at Vision.

“What woke you up? I’ve been trying for over a _week!_ ” His attention snapped back you you however, and you couldn’t help but be intimidated by the man. “What tampering have you done to my machine!?” he demanded.

You didn’t answer him, instead trying to escape his reach. Unfortunately, you weren’t fast enough. The doctor grabbed your wrist and slammed it back against the glass. “Answer me!” he shouted.

Before you could try to push the man off of you, the grip on your arm was released. You darted away as fast as you could, turning to find Vision holding Dr. Newmann’s arm in a death grip, his hand phased through the glass. His expression was cold as the doctor cried out in pain. Vision dragged him towards the door, Newmann shouting as he was pulled against the glass. His efforts to escape the android’s grasp were in vain, as he was no match against Vision’s inhuman strength.

Vision pressed the doctor’s hand against the scanner, the door sliding open with a hiss. He all but threw Newmann to the ground, the doctor dropping to his knees as he cradled his injured wrist. Vision wasted no time grabbing your hand and running for the door. You sped past your baffled coworkers just outside the lab, Dr. Newmann’s shouts echoing behind you.

You managed to get your bearings, having processed the events of the last few seconds. You pulled your hand from Vision’s, pointing in the direction of the stairwell.

“Over there! That should get us to the parking ramp!” The two of you sprinted to the stairs as fast as you could. Security would no doubt be on you as soon as Newmann made the call. You were all the more thankful it had been just you and your coworkers in this particular area.

Vision ran up the steps two or more at a time, pausing only when he saw you struggling to keep up. You were pretty winded by the time you reached the ground floor, but adrenaline kept you going. You found yourselves in the main lobby of the building, right next to the door to the parking garage.

“Hey! They’re over here!” You felt your heart drop to your stomach as you caught a glimpse of the battalion of guards headed your way. To top it off, these weren’t the regular night guards. Instead of flashlights, these guys carried _guns_. The whole situation had gone completely sideways, any semblance of a plan having been thrown out the window. Your only thought now was _not getting shot._

The cool night air only made you more alert as Vision pulled you outside. Most of the garage was empty, all the regular employees having gone home hours ago. You got here on public transport, not having expected to have to make a daring escape tonight.

A car honked from the nearby busy street, drawing the attention of both of you. Vision seemed to get an idea, running full speed toward the road.

“What are we doing!?” You half-yelled over all the commotion. Vision pointed frantically at the cars ahead, though you weren’t sure what he meant.

The sound of gunfire behind you sent you into red-alert as you turned to see the guards spilling out of the doorway, guns pointed directly at you. Your only instinct was to dive behind a nearby barrier, though it didn’t provide as much cover as you’d like. You covered your head with your arms and squeezed your eyes shut tight. You didn’t open them until you felt something cover you. You looked up to see Vision had wrapped and arm tight around you, pulling you against his chest as he shielded you from the gunfire.

Vision watched the guards carefully, looking for an opening as their bullets bounced harmlessly off of him. It was as if they’d been ordered to shoot on sight, not a care in the world if they hit you in the process. To them, you were just in the way. As long as they got their android back, that’s all that mattered. That thought in mind, Vision held you tighter, wishing he could rip the guns from the hands of every single guard before giving them each a taste of the concrete. He was normally calm and composed in a fight, and he still was currently, but there was also anger. He was angry he’d been trapped, he was angry they’d been trying to steal Stark’s tech, but most importantly, he was angry they would toss your life aside so carelessly, despite you being an innocent civilian. As far as Vision was concerned, these people might as well be working for Hydra (though they may very well be as far as he could tell).

He counted the patterns in their shots, lining up the perfect moment to run. When the firing stopped for just a moment, you were pulled to your feet and began running once more. After the brief moment of safety, Vision made sure to stay between you and the guards as the gunshots resumed. Now that you were in the open, the guards seemed more hesitant to fire. Either they were trying to get a more accurate shot or they were avoiding hitting any of the nearby cars or pedestrians, though you doubted that one. You resisted the urge to duck and cover as Vision hurried you across the road, traffic sparse enough for you to cross, though hopefully busy enough to slow the guards.

You quickly figured out what he was planning as you approached a parking lot across the street. There were only a handful of cars, but one in particular caught your eye. It was definitely some kind of sports car, looking much faster and much, _much_ more expensive than anything you’d ever driven. Vision didn’t let your hand go this time until you were both at the car, a fair distance from the guards who got blocked by oncoming traffic.

“You know how to hack into the car or something?” You asked, assuming Vision had some trick up his sleeve. Rather than that, however, he simply phased his hand through the car window and pulled up on the lock.

“I guess that works too...” You were surprised when he moved around the car and got in the passenger seat, leaving you standing dumbstruck outside the driver’s side. Vision leaned over and gestured frantically for you to get in the car.

“Why am I driving!?” You yelled, leaning down to face Vision through the window. He gestured from the steering wheel to himself, shaking his head. “You can’t drive? You’re a walking supercomputer that doesn’t know how to drive a car?!” You groaned in frustration and Vision started gesturing again, though he was interrupted by the sound of gunfire, closer this time. Startled, you hopped into the car, barely registering your actions.

“How am I supposed to start this thing?” As you were on the verge of panicking, gunshots outside getting closer, Vision once more phased his hand through the car, this time into the ignition, manipulating the mechanism inside as if turning a key. You didn’t have time to admire his abilities, however, as the engine roared to life and you slammed on the gas pedal.

The car took off with much more force than you expected, nearly running straight into a light pole. You did your best to get onto the main road, the vehicle stopping and starting with harsh jolts as you got used to the kick this car had. You accelerated well above the speed limit in seconds, only slowing once your old workplace was long out of sight in the rear view mirror.


	3. Chapter 3

As the car slowed, so did your heartbeat, the adrenaline beginning to wear off. You didn’t know where you were going, just that you needed to keep moving. You took the highway out of the city, figuring your place wasn’t a safe option. Only once the city skyline gave way to open road did you speak again.

“So, uh, what’s the plan? Where are we going?” You glanced over at Vision, only taking your eyes off the road as much as you had to. He simply shook his head solemnly, making it clear there was no plan, which was not what you wanted to hear. He began trying to say something else, miming something you didn’t remotely understand. “Hang on, I’ve got something that’ll help,” you reached into your pocket and pulled out your phone. “There’s a text-to-speech feature you can use to talk to me.”

Barely after the last word was out of your mouth, Vision took the phone in both hands and snapped it in half effortlessly. You winced at the crunch of the metal. He rolled the window down and threw the destroyed phone outside as you simply stared at him wide-eyed.

“What the hell was that for?!” The car drifted slightly while your eyes were off the road, causing you to quickly snap back into your lane when you heard another car honk. You turned back to Vision for an explanation, though he simply pointed up at the sky.

“Oh, GPS. Right.” You hadn’t thought about your phone being used to track you. You mentally chided yourself for such a stupid mistake.

Vision began rummaging through the glovebox while you kept your eyes on the road, not wanting another close call like before. The roads were relatively clear this time of night, especially as you got further from the city, but you weren’t taking any more chances. You’d had enough near-death experiences for awhile.

Most of the glovebox’s contents were just rubbish or various bits of paper, but there was one thing that would come in particularly handy. Vision’s expression lit up slightly as he held up a pen and some kind of legal notepad. You began to think this car probably belonged to some kind of corporate businessman or something. Clearly someone with money to spare. That made you feel a little less bad about stealing it.

Vision was writing hurriedly but you couldn’t make out what he was saying and watch the road at the same time. When he was done, he leaned over to hold up the paper in your line of sight.

_“Car is compromised. Need new one. Something inconspicuous.”_ You agreed, but you had no idea how to go about that. You didn’t know a thing about car thievery, today’s events being your only experience.

“Vision this isn’t exactly my area of expertise. Besides I don’t even know where we are. What’s even a good place to find a car? Or leave this one for that matter? A parking lot?” You rambled until Vision quickly tapped his hand on the dashboard to get your attention. He pointed at some kind of sign ahead of you. You made out the words as you got closer, the headlights illuminating the old rusted sign as if it were neon.

‘Motel- 30 miles,’ it read, the letters were peeling from age but nonetheless legible. “Yeah I guess that’ll work...” you mumbled, more to yourself than anything.

The drive was quiet from there. It was peaceful almost, the hum of the engine, the open road, and the clear view of the sky. The sight of the endless highway made time feel as if it had stopped. Under better circumstances, you would love to roll the windows down and enjoy the rush of the night air. There had always been something about driving at night that you found relaxing. That is, until your thoughts caught up with you.

You’d been processing the day’s events. It was slowly dawning on you that you were a criminal now. Officially on the lam. You were no doubt being hunted still. And they likely wouldn’t be feeling merciful when they caught you. _If_ they caught you, you corrected yourself.

The realization that you’d just uprooted your entire life had crept up on you. You thought of your family and your friends. Hell, even the employees at your favorite coffee shop that always knew your order. There were people that would wonder what happened to you. Would they assume you went missing or would your face be plastered across every news channel in the country?

It was all becoming too much too quickly. You tried to force your breathing to slow as your heart beat against your chest, but it didn’t help. It was all you could do to keep a straight face, pushing back the panic simmering just below the surface. You hoped the darkness of the car would hide the way your jaw was clenching until your teeth hurt, the way your knuckles were turning pale on the steering wheel, or the way your chest rose and fell more rapidly than it should.

One perk of being a supercomputer would be the impeccable observation skills. Vision was nothing if not perceptive. The sound of your breathing alone would’ve tipped him off that something was amiss. He scribbled something quickly on the paper, unbeknownst to you.

Your eyes were glued to the windshield, though you weren’t truly seeing through it. Your thoughts were focused inward. You were so fixated on them, in fact, that you nearly jumped out of your seat when Vision put a hand on your arm.

“Huh— what?” You de-tensed after a moment, Vision’s gentle grip surprisingly reassuring. In his free hand he held up the paper, just barely readable under the flickering light of passing street lamps.

_“What is wrong?”_

What were you supposed to say to that? ‘Oh, you know, just a little stressed about running from the law!’ There weren’t many words to describe your feelings right now, but you knew ‘stressed’ didn’t quite cover it.

“It’s just— well, what am I going to do now? I can’t exactly go back to my old life. I’m pretty freaked out too. It’s all just too much to process.” You tried not to sound accusatory, but a look briefly crossed the android’s face that you could’ve sworn was guilt. He began writing again after a pause, but scribbled it out before finishing. You caught a glimpse before he threw the crumpled paper into the back seat, just catching sight of the words, _“an idea.”_

Vision just stared at the blank paper at a loss for words. The experience was new to him. He knew countless words in countless languages and processed thoughts faster than a human could comprehend, yet here he a was; unable to find just the right message to comfort you. It brought him a feeling a helplessness.

As luck would have it, you were just hitting the exit ramp. In the near distance was a flickering neon sign, accompanied by a shabby-looking building.

Pulling into the parking lot revealed this to be the best-case scenario for you. For a motel that sits in the middle of nowhere and looks straight out of a horror movie, the place was surprisingly busy. Counting the doors, you estimated the place only had maybe 12 rooms, max, and there were probably almost that many cars in the lot. That gave you plenty of options.

Once the car was off, you groaned in frustration, letting your head hit the steering wheel with a dull ‘thud.’ Outside, a chorus of cicadas drowned out everything else. Even with the windows up, the noise seemed deafening, or maybe that was just because you were so used to the city. You heard Vision move in his seat, but didn’t bother to look what he was doing. You didn’t move at all, in fact, until you felt his hand on your shoulder.

_“There’s a grey SUV a couple rows over. Common model. Inconspicuous.”_ When you looked up from the paper, Vision gestured out the passenger window. Sure enough, the vehicle he described was right there in plain sight. It was several years old and it showed, but overall there were no real distinguishing features about the vehicle. It had no stickers you could see, no obvious damage, and it had local license plates, so they wouldn’t stand out.

“Nice choice. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were a professional car thief.” You chuckled half-heartedly, too tired for anything more than that. You weren’t sure if it was just the exhaustion setting in, but you could’ve sworn you even saw Vision crack a smile. “Let’s go—“ Before you could finish your sentence, however, a huge yawn came over you.

_“You’re exhausted. We need to stop.”_ Vision had the words down by the time you’d closed your mouth.

“We can’t, we can’t. It’s not safe. I’ll be fine,” you insisted, much to the android’s dismay. You opened your door and stepped outside before he could write a response. The cool night breeze perked you up ever so slightly. The chill was just enough to give you that second wind.

You looked around the lot, trying to lean on the car as inconspicuously as possible while you checked to make sure no one could see you. You didn’t see anyone outside for a cigarette, no one in their cars, no one in the windows, and no security cameras on the building. You leaned down to face the window, gesturing to Vision that the coast was clear. He stepped outside without any further arguments about stopping for the night. He agreed with you that this wasn’t a safe place to stop, but he was also worried you weren’t in a fit state to be driving. He’d have to settle for keeping an eye on you and hope for the best.

The two of you made your way to the SUV, keeping other cars between you and the building as much as possible to hide you from view. You stood a step back from the driver’s door to give Vision room to unlock the car just as he’d done with the last one. Neither of you made a sound until you were in the car and getting back on the road.

As you opened your mouth to speak, another yawn escaped your lips. It was true, you were exhausted and you weren’t sure how much longer you could drive. Until you found somewhere safe however, you didn’t have any other options. “So, you have idea where we should go?”

Vision was already writing something when you’d asked the question. He was writing quite a lot, actually. May as well have been writing a novel on the tiny notepad. He had to lean over a bit more to hold the paper in front of you since the SUV’s cab was wider than the last car. His arm brushed yours and your mind flashed back to the first time you’d touched, when you’d touched his hand back at the lab. You were still stunned by the softness of his artificial skin, and equally red in the face. He really wasn’t like any other machine.

Between your distracted thoughts and the need to keep an eye on the road, it took you annoyingly long to read the note. You kept glancing between it and the pavement ahead of you, your eyes struggling to shift focus in the evening light. Or rather, morning light. The sun was in the earliest stages of rising, the sky still dark but beginning to blend in with your surroundings. It was a bad time to be driving half-awake, that’s for sure.

_“Avengers have old safe houses scattered across the country. Closest one should be about a state over. Can stay there awhile, try to contact the team.”_ You lost your focus on the road as you squinted to read the last line, not noticing the car had begun to drift over the line. Dropping the note, Vision practically leapt over the center console to grab the steering wheel, sharply swerving back into the lane just before you would’ve gone off the road. The whole ordeal definitely woke you up. Sat up straight and with both hands on the wheel in a death grip, you checked your mirrors for other cars around you. As luck would have it, there was no one else close to you. The closest vehicle on your side of the highway was so far back that their headlights were barely a speck in the distance. You let out a sigh of relief. The last thing you needed was someone calling the cops about a crazy driver. That may just be the worst way you could get caught.

You could hear your android passenger writing another note but you cut him off before he could finish. “If you’re gonna tell me we need to stop again, don’t bother. How long a drive would you say this safe house is?”

Vision took a second to scribble out his previous unfinished response before penning a new one. _“Five, maybe four hours. Barring any incidents.”_

“That’s great. I can do five hours.” You didn’t exactly sound confident, but Vision didn’t question you further about it. “How about we see if there’s any music on. That’ll help me stay awake.” You turned on the car’s stereo and were immediately assaulted by the most god-awful 70’s soft pop that you’d ever heard. It sounded like something that should be playing on loop at 3am in an empty convenience store. It was so dull and repetitive it would’ve put you straight to sleep if it weren’t simultaneously so annoying. You tried skipping through a couple songs on the CD, but it wasn’t getting any better. Whoever owned this car must’ve burned their entire tape deck collection onto here. That’s not to say there isn’t plenty of good music to be found on tapes. In fact if it had been even like a decade newer it would be perfect, but this just wasn’t it.

After the eighth terrible song in a row, you gave up. “Nope. Nope. None of this.” You ejected the disk, across which ‘road trip mix’ was scrawled in messy sharpie, and tossed it haphazardly into the back seat. You switched the radio to FM, figuring literally anything could be better than that. While you were busy fiddling with the console, you didn’t catch the smile that crept across Vision’s face just out of your field of view. He was reminded of Tony Stark and how picky that man was with his music. On multiple occasions, his insistence on finding the ‘perfect soundtrack’ during a mission had nearly gotten him shot. Not that it would’ve hurt him, but it certainly drove the rest of the team up a wall. Vision found himself wondering where the team could possibly be right now, though he didn’t like most of the answers.

When you’d settled on a station, the drive began to settle down. For a good few hours, neither of you spoke, or wrote, in Vision’s case. It wasn’t as if you didn’t have anything to say, but the process of trying to read Vision’s writings while you were driving had proven to be more of a hazard than it was worth, so you kept conversation to a minimum. You figured there’d be time to talk when you got to the safe house.

Every so often the radio station would need changed, either from the weak signal as you drove further away or just because you got sick of hearing commercials. Vision took it upon himself to dial through stations, quickly learning what kind of music you actually liked, or would at least tolerate. Eventually, you didn’t even have to say anything when he landed on a good station. He would just know as soon as you heard the music.

The sun was finally showing itself on the horizon, and the drive was taking a toll on you once more. Once or twice, you felt your eyelids beginning to drift shut before you’d snap them open again. Whenever that happened, you would turn up the volume a little on the radio. Had you been more awake, you would’ve noticed Vision gazing at you for the last ten minutes, as if studying you.

As a matter of fact, he was. Studying you, that is. He wondered what sort of person you were to help someone like him. It took a lot of bravery to do what you had done. That, or sheer stupidity, but you seemed like a more intelligent person than people realized. Were you just the type of person to help any poor soul that crossed your path? What could your life _possibly_ be like that you’d drop it all for him? Were you afraid? Were you lost?

Were you alone, like him?

A road sign alerting you of the approaching state border caught both of your attention, and Vision was already writing a response before you could even ask the question.

_“City’s about half an hour from here. I’ll try to give you directions.”_

You simply nodded in response. You wondered if he had a GPS of some kind in that big computer brain of his, or if he’d just memorized the locations of all the safe houses and was good with directions. Either worked, you supposed.

You found yourself in what could only loosely be referred to as a city, definitely a lot smaller than where you lived. Or rather, where you used to live. But now wasn’t the time to think about that. This city wasn’t some backwater hamlet by any means, but it was definitely smaller than anywhere you’d been to in a long time. Getting directions was something of a difficulty as you got further into the city. Vision couldn’t really write out instructions on the fly and if you went the wrong way that would just mess it all up anyway. A fair amount of frustration and several wrong turns later, Vision gave up on trying to write anything and just gestured when you needed to turn. It was possibly the least fun game of charades you’d ever played.

Eventually the business districts gave way to a slightly more familiar setting. This part of town was what you could fairly call _dilapidated_ , packed with narrow streets, run-down apartment buildings, and more pedestrians than cars, though there wasn’t even many of those. Vision insisted you were in the right place, so you didn’t question it further. He directed you to an alleyway that led to a small parking lot behind one of the many identical buildings, where you finally stopped the car. Good timing too. You couldn’t go much longer on the fuel you had and stopping at a gas station had seemed like a good way to get caught.

“Okay, what now?” You sat back as you removed the keys from the ignition and looked over at Vision. It took him a good thirty seconds to write out his response.

_“The safe house is close by, but we’ll have to walk. We can leave the car here with the keys on the seat. Ideally someone else will see them and take it. We’ll take the plates. Out-of-state. Easier to trace back to us.”_

The plan seemed fine to you except for one thing. “How far do we have to walk, exactly? Won’t someone see you? It’s broad daylight.”

_“That’s a chance we’ll have to take. Luckily, not many people seem to live around here.”_

You didn’t like it, but you didn’t have any better ideas. “Alright, lead the way.”

You did as Vision had said and left the car keys on the driver’s seat. You even left the car unlocked for good measure. Once you got out, however, things got a little more difficult. As you walked around to the back of the car, you heard a loud _thud_ from the passenger side. You raced around to find Vision leaning haphazardly on the side of the car, one hand braced against the metal and the other clutching his side. The pen and paper had been dropped on the ground.

“What’s wrong?! Are you— are you hurt? What happened?” You raced over to him as he struggled back to his feet, unsure what you should do. You scooped up the pen and paper, handing it over to him as soon as he could support himself again.

_“Just a bit of internal damage. Seems to have gotten a little worse but there’s no need to worry.”_

“That sounds like something I should _definitely_ be worried about.” Other than his arm, you hadn’t realized he might be hurt. It makes sense that an android could have internal injuries, just as well as any human. You just hoped it wasn’t too serious. You weren’t a medical professional, but you would still be more confident in helping tend human injuries rather than android. You hadn’t the slightest idea how to help with those.

He waved you off like it wasn’t a big deal and you decided not to push your luck. He insisted the walk to the safe house would be short so you headed that way. You couldn’t help but notice his steps were more uneven, however, although he was doing his best to hide it. You wondered if he felt pain the same way you did. You kind of hoped not. You didn’t like the idea of him being in pain, especially if there was nothing you could do to help.

You stuck to alleys and backstreets, which made the walk a but longer than it needed to be but you couldn’t risk anyone seeing Vision, at least not up close. You always walked with him between you and the nearest wall, trying to shield him from view as best you could. It didn’t help that he was taller than you. You were so focused on scanning your surroundings for any onlookers that you almost walked right by the safe house. Vision grabbed your arm to stop you and you turned to look at the building. It looked just like all the other buildings around it; vines climbing the brick walls, curtains covering the windows, cement crumbling around the foundations. It hardly looked safe. Though perhaps that was the idea. It certainly blended in. No one would suspect anything out of the ordinary.

As you climbed the steps, you noticed the electronic keypad by the door. It was just a series of buttons with apartment numbers and names printed on them, though most of them were faded beyond legibility. You highly doubted there was anyone inside to buzz you into the building.

“I don’t suppose you have a key.” You watched as Vision shook his and approached the keypad. He pressed one of the names and for a brief moment you genuinely thought you were going to have to have someone let you in. Then he pressed another name, and another. It was a seemingly random order that you quickly realized was a code. Leave it to the Avengers to put a secret code on their already secret safe house.

The door buzzed once the code was entered, signaling that it was unlocked. Vision ushered you inside and you were immediately overwhelmed by all the dust in the air. You couldn’t help but sneeze one, two, three times in a row. For a brief second you swore the room was spinning. Then you blinked away the blurriness in your eyes and took a good look around.

From the outside, the building looked like the kind that would have multiple apartments in it, but that change once you got inside. It was set up like a town house of sorts, with the front door leading directly into a living area. The building was only two stories, but that was still a lot of space for a single unit in a neighborhood like this. In a bigger city, this place would cost a fortune. Although it needed some work. Everything was covered in a heavy layer of dust and a the air was heavy with a musty smell. Still, if it was safe, that’s all that mattered.

As soon as your eyes landed on the sofa, all your concerns vanished into thin air. You didn’t even take the time to look for a blanket or bother to see what Vision was doing before you collapsed onto that dusty sofa as if it were a bed fit for a king. You vaguely noticed the feeling of a blanket being draped over you before drifting off into much-needed sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

You awoke feeling sluggish and hazy, practically choking on dust and resisting the need to sneeze. The feeling quickly shifted to panic as you opened your eyes to even more darkness which only worsened when you tried to move, something blocking the space in front of you as well as tangling around your legs. It wasn’t until you rolled to the floor with a loud ‘ _thud _’ that you remembered falling asleep on the sofa. You didn’t remember grabbing a blanket, however, which had gotten wrapped around your legs in your sleep.

You recognized Vision’s silhouette as he appeared hurriedly from the other room. You couldn’t see much in the dim light, but you could recognize him by his eyes alone. They glowed softly in the dark, that electric-blue bringing some familiarity to your surroundings.

The lights came on and you were momentarily blinded, shielding your eyes with your hand as they adjusted. “Sorry,” you said, blinking the last remnants of sleep away. “I just fell off the sofa. I’m okay.” You took a good look around the room for the first time since arriving, still not bothering to get up off the floor. It looked like a fairly basic living space. There was a patterned rug, a coffee table, some shelves with a few random knick-knacks, the usual. You did notice the lack of a TV, however. You supposed it wasn’t worth investing in one if no one would be living here ninety-nine percent of the time.

Still a bit groggy, you almost didn’t see Vision walk over to you and extend a hand to help you up. To be completely honest, you were perfectly comfortable on the floor but you weren’t going to turn him away. You uttered a quick ‘thanks’ as you got to your feet.

You had absolutely no idea what time it was but it was definitely dark out. Not a speck of light filtered in through the drawn curtains. Whether it was evening or early morning, however, you hadn’t a clue. “What time is it?”

Vision pointed to a digital clock sitting on a bookshelf close by. It read 6:30.

“I only slept for a few hours?” Well, more like several hours, by your estimate. It was broad daylight when you’d arrived. Still, that was surprising given that you’d basically passed out as soon as you got indoors and hadn’t slept in like two days. 

Vision shook his head, however, cutting off your train of thought. He held up one finger on his right hand and put it down before holding up nine in total. It took you a second to understand what he meant, thinking he was saying ten before realizing.

“Are you saying I slept  _ nineteen  _ hours?” Vision just nodded and you let out a sigh. That explained why you felt so stiff. That much time on a sofa, even a surprisingly comfortable one, would take its toll. One other thing struck you, however. “Wait a minute, so it’s six in the  _morning _ , then? It’s awfully dark out.” You chanced a peek out the window to actually confirm that it was, in fact, dark outside.

You turned back when you heard the familiar scratch of pen on paper. It looked like Vision had found a new notepad somewhere. By the time you walked over, he had finished writing.  “ _Clock is an hour ahead. Haven’t fixed it. Only got power back on a couple hours ago._ ”

“Oh, that makes more sense.” This time of year, it was perfectly normal to be dark at 5:30. However, it was also cold outside and you were beginning to notice that in here as well. You picked up the blanket off the floor and draped it over your shoulders, pulling it tight around yourself. “Is there heat at all?”

Vision wrote his response as quick as possible, handwriting still impeccable as always.  “ _It’s on but not very strong. Building isn’t in best condition anymore. There’s fuses missing so I prioritized some things. A few lights aren’t going to work_.”  He stepped aside and gestured somewhere down the small hallway behind him. On the wall was an open panel.

“Wait this place still has a fuse box? The Avengers couldn’t afford someplace with circuit breakers?” You couldn’t help but crack a smile at your own joke, if you could really call it that. You were just happy your custodial knowledge was relevant for once.

“ _Old SHIELD building_ ,”  Vision quickly noted. If this place had been built by the Avengers, it would be far more modern, probably to an unnecessary extent. Tony Stark would only stand for the best, even if it was a safe house that would almost never get used.

“Shield? Are they still around?” You only sort of understood what SHIELD was. No more than any other member of the general public. They were a kind-of, sort-of government agency or something like that. They always kept their stuff super secret so most people never really knew what they did. Then there was the whole deal with Hydra which  _ nobody  _ understood. You decided a long time ago it wasn’t worth worrying about, much like most of the American populace. Perhaps you should have paid closer attention.

Vision simply tilted his hand side-to-side in a gesture that implied that the answer was complicated and really not worth getting into. He shifted the conversation to you instead. “ _How are you feeling_?”

“I should be asking you that. You weren’t doing so well yesterday.” You tried not to let the worry in your voice show, though you weren’t sure what good it would do.

You thought you saw a hint of a smile cross his face as he turned back to his paper.  “ _Don’t worry about me. I’ll be alright._ ”

“Vision...” You recalled back to the other night, when you’d told him nearly the same thing after a couple solid days of no sleep. Before you could retort, however, he’d turned and headed toward the other room, gesturing for you to follow.

The small office space was an absolute mess. The only reason you called it an office was the papers and folders scattered around the room as well as the computer tucked away on a desk in the corner. Underneath a blanket of dust, it looked almost exactly like the _first computer_ you’d ever owned. Actually, it might just be the first computer . You were pretty sure it should be in a museum.

Vision navigated the difficult terrain with ease as he made his way to the desk. You, on the other hand, felt like you were doing a balancing act as you tried to limit your steps to the few parts of the floor that were visible. You didn’t know what all these stacks of papers and folders were exactly, but you figured it was best not to mess with them.

“There’s no way that thing works,” you said once you’d cleared a spot to stand by the desk, your own little island of shag carpeting amongst the sea of paper. 

Vision pried open a panel on the side of the computer, carefully removing a CPU board with all the expertise of a seasoned technician. The actual monitor was half buried in a pile of miscellaneous cords and plugs next to the desk. After a brief moment of inspection, wherein he must’ve decided all appeared fine, he went ahead and booted the thing up.

It chugged to life like a patient coming out of surgery, slowly and with great difficulty. It made sounds you were pretty sure should only be coming from a lawn mower but all the lights eventually blinked on in time. As it did so, you braved the sneeze-inducing dust pile for the monitor, the air turning cloudy as you shifted all the junk that had been untouched for years. “I’m guessing you’ll need this?” You hoisted the dinosaur of a monitor up onto the desk, Vision taking it gratefully and nodding a thanks your way.

For a minute after he plugged it in, it seemed the screen wasn’t going to work. Only after staring at it did you realize it  was  working, albeit extremely slowly. A symbol was appearing on the screen, the shape becoming more discernible the longer the machine whirred. As far you could tell, it looked like some kind of government emblem, like an eagle with a crest in the center. It wasn’t until it had spent a solid minute loading that you were able to read the text surrounding it. “Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement... Logistics Division? What on Earth does— wait, that’s what SHIELD stands for?”

Vision nodded in a way that suggested he wasn’t overly fond of the acronym either. You were beginning to think he wasn’t so difficult to read after all, not like you thought when you’d first met, at least. It just took time, much like reading the decades-old monitor had.

“I think someone just really wanted the initials to spell out shield.” You gave a breathy laugh, more air than sound. “What’re you going to do with this old thing? Can it even get internet?”

Vision shook his head and reached for his paper from the edge of the desk.  “ _Not that kind of computer,_ ”  he wrote. You resisted butting in as he tore off a new sheet, still not used to the pauses in conversation that resulted from the rather roundabout method of communication.  “ _It’s wired directly into an old SHIELD system and by extension, hopefully, the Avengers emergency system_.”

“Really? I would’ve guessed this place predated the Avengers.” As you spoke, Vision got the keyboard hooked up which had been stuffed into one of the desk drawers. It was missing at least a quarter of its key caps, the really chunky, old kind that made a satisfying  _click-clack _ when pressed. Apparently they’d prioritized actual computer hardware over keyboards considering there were offices at your job that still had keyboards just like it. Correction: your  _ old  _ job. You’d almost forgotten.

“ _SHIELD software was integrated with Stark tech after the Battle of New York. In theory, we should be able to put out an emergency signal on a secure Avengers server from here._ ”  You almost hadn’t noticed Vision writing again as you zoned out a bit.

You would’ve been more excited over good news, but you’d learned over the years what happened when you got your hopes up. “So when you say  _in theory_ ,  I’m guessing the odds aren’t exactly...” You trailed off, unable to continue without sounding horribly pessimistic.

“ _It will work_ ,”  was all he wrote, a noticeable firmness in his grip as he held the pen. You didn’t say anything else but moved closer to the desk, directly by his side now. There was what could only be described as a hint of doubt in his expression before he turned back to the monitor as green text cluttered the screen.

“We can only hope so.” You let your hand brush his shoulder as you navigated back towards the door, no longer particularly caring to avoid crumpling the paper on the floor.

You weren’t sure how long it would take Vision to finish what he was doing, especially with the tech he was stuck with. You found it more than a bit ironic that possibly the most advanced machine on the planet had to use a decades-old computer to call for help. It felt weird to think of him as a machine. After what you’d been through in the past 24 hours alone, you’d begun to think of him as just another person. Well, not  _ just another  _ person, that wasn’t what you meant. How to put it...? You just couldn’t explain it. There was no precedent in your mind for a situation like this. Vision was a living being. As alive as anyone, maybe more so. That much you could say confidently.

Trying not to get too lost in your thoughts, you busied yourself investigating the rest of the apartment, not that there was much to find. Living room, connected kitchen, hallway with the office and stairs that led up to a bedroom and bathroom. All pretty standard. All of it looked fresh out of the 80’s. Well, maybe not  _fresh_.

Just as you completed your lap of the place, you were interrupted by a low grumble from none other than your own stomach. That was a problem. There was definitely not food here. You had no other choice really than to shove the feeling to the back of your mind for now. You got yourself a glass of water to make do. At least the plumbing worked.

By the time Vision came back, it had been less than twenty minutes. “That was quick. Any success?” You sipped your water, ignoring the slight metallic tang it had.

Vision wrote as he crossed the room to stand opposite you from the island counter.  _“The beacon is active. Now someone just needs to hear it_.”

Despite his lack of vocals, you sensed a definite lack of confidence in his words. “How long do you think that’ll take?” You hoped not too long. You were concerned about your food situation.

He didn’t bother writing a response. The expression on his face made it clear; he had no idea. Maybe never, if no one was out there to hear it. You only hummed a response, neither confirming nor retorting. The sound of you sipping your water seemed immensely loud in the heavy silence of the room.

“Well, what do we do now?” You were becoming anxious again. You didn’t like being forced to sit and wait. At any minute, you felt like law enforcement would start breaking the door down.

“ _We wait. There’s nothing else we can do._ ”  He seemed apologetic. He wished he could give you a more concrete answer, some sort of assurance that this would all work out, but he couldn’t. Not truthfully, anyway.

It looked like you had some time to kill. You weren’t sure what all there really was to do. Still, it wasn’t all bad. At least you had company. “I wonder if there’s a better way we can communicate,” you mused, turning your mind to less dire matters.

Vision seemed to brighten up a bit as he was struck by an idea.  “ _You don’t happen to know any ASL, do you?_ ”

You shook your head. “Unfortunately, no. I assume you do?”

He responded by holding up his right hand in a closed fist and sort of nodded it up and down.

“I’m guessing that means... yes?” It wasn’t a far stretch. You’d actually thought about learning ASL before but never gotten around to it. There were more uses for it than people realized. Too bad work left you too busy and tired to make the time for lessons. Well now you had nothing  _but _ time.

Vision just nodded his head in the more familiar interpretation of the word. He grabbed the pen and paper again off the counter.  “ _I could teach you some. At least the important parts, if you want_.”  He hesitated a split second between sentences, just a bit nervous, though the pause was nowhere near long enough for you to notice. It was barely a stutter in his programming, a single digit skipped somewhere in his code. Nothing to be concerned with.

“Yeah,” you said, maybe just slightly too enthusiastic. “Yeah, that’d be great! I— I mean, it would be useful, you know? Way more efficient than pen and paper. Uhm...” You were struggling to ask how he wanted to start when your stomach growled, providing a convenient segue into another topic. “Heh, sorry. Didn’t realize how hungry I was.” You tried to pass it off as no big deal, although you really were starving. You hadn’t eaten anything since before setting Vision free. It had been well over a full day since then.

He looked surprised for a moment, which he was, before he began writing. For a genius super-computer, he could sometimes be very forgetful of the needs of his human cohorts. They were very fragile things, humans. The need for sleep and food was something Vision never had to worry about, something he realized he took for granted. Something akin to guilt began to gnaw at him when he too realized how long it had been since the escape. He should’ve brought up the matter earlier.  “ _We need to get you food_ ,”  he wrote very matter-of-factly. It wasn’t something up for debate.

“I don’t exactly have a lot of cash on me, Vis.” You flinched at the nickname, quick to move on before he could call you out on it. It had been merely a slip of the tongue, just shortening his name for the sake of convenience. It could have been a gesture of friendship towards the android, though you weren’t sure you’d quite earned the right to call Vision a  _friend_ ,  even if you were fond of him. “I’ve got like 10 bucks, tops.” You pulled a few crumpled bills from your pockets to emphasize your point. You obviously couldn’t use your credit card, either. You’d seen enough movies to know that.

Vision thought a moment before coming up with an idea.  “ _It’s not the most ethical thing to do, but I could get cash out of an ATM. It’s technically a matter of survival, after all._ ”  He demonstrated exactly what he meant by phasing his hand through the paper as you read, something that could just as easily be done to a cash machine.

It wasn’t so much the legality of the idea that bothered you. After all, you’d stolen multiple cars. It was the matter of Vision’s safety. Not that he couldn’t protect himself but he would be spotted quite easily if he went outside. That was just a matter of fact. And if someone called the police on a strange magenta man or anything along the lines of ‘ _robot_ ,’ you could pretty much guarantee trouble. “I don’t know... What if someone sees you? The last thing we want is to compromise the safe house. I can just wait awhile longer, I’ll be fine.”

Your stomach chose that moment to grumble again, completely undermining your point. Vision shot you a look that more than sufficed to communicate what he was thinking but he wrote it down anyway. “ _It would seem we don’t have much of a choice._ ”

You sighed, all but forced to agree. Although, it  would  be nice to get some actual food before your stomach started eating itself. “Fine,” you relented. “But we wait until it gets dark out. It’s safer that way.”

Vision wasn’t about to argue.

-

Memorization wasn’t really your strong suit, but you seemed to do surprisingly well with the start of your sign language lessons. It helped that your teacher was so patient.

Vision thought it would be best to start with a few simple phrases for the sake of saving paper. Common things such as ‘ _sorry_ ’ and ‘ _thank you_.’ You had the benefit of only really needing to recognize them as opposed to being able to do the signs yourself, since Vision could obviously hear you, but you took it upon yourself to mimic the gestures anyway.

It had been a few hours and your head was starting to ache but you insisted on continuing. You were certain you were doing well and you wanted Vision to be impressed. Not only could you remember how to spell your own name, you could spell his as well. The rest of the alphabet may not have stuck as much but oh well. For now, words and phrases were more important.

“That’s... someone?” You guessed as Vision held up his index finger and waved it in a sort of circle. He’d been quizzing you for a few minutes now, to which you’d done pretty well. He shook his head this time, however, and tried not to look amused by the almost comically offended look on your face. “What? Yes it is! I’m certain that means ‘someone!’” You were insistent on the fact. Vision hadn’t tried to trip you up yet but he must be this time. You tried to mimic the motion, repeating the word as if that would change anything.

He shook his head again, not bothering to hide his smile this time. He reached for your hand, raising it higher to show you that there was, in fact, a _slight_ difference between what he was signing and what you were. For a moment, you looked almost startled, like a deer in headlights. He didn’t miss the hint of color that tinged your cheeks. His assumption was merely that you were embarrassed by your mistake, though it was an easy one to make. He switched back to paper in order to explain. “ _This_ ,” he repeated his first gesture. “ _means ‘always’. What you signed was ‘someone.’ See the difference?_ ”

You nodded in understanding although your attention was beginning to drift. You felt like you were cramming for an exam in a class you hadn’t been attending. You may or may not have actually had to do that before. The point was, you’d learned just about all you were going to for the day. And just in time, it seemed, as you glanced toward the curtains, no longer backlit by the afternoon sun. You’d managed to kill most of the day, between checking that the computer was still working and just generally talking with Vision. There wasn’t much else to do, not that you were complaining. You were quite enjoying the android’s company and not just because you were stuck with him. And to top it off, you’d managed to distract yourself from how hungry you were. Until now, that is.

“How about we call it a day on the lessons, hm? I’d say now’s about the best time to head outside. There’s just one thing we have to do first.” You turned and exited the room without explanation, only saying you’d be right back. You ran upstairs to the bedroom, hoping you could find what you needed. You hadn’t voiced your plan to Vision, although you saw no reason for him not to go along with it. It was a smart idea if you said so yourself. At least that’s what you told yourself as you began rifling through drawers.

Vision wasn’t sure what to think at first when you came bumbling down the stairs again with a messily folded bundle in your hands. But your intention became clear quite quickly once you’d returned, immediately holding out the clothes to him before bothering to explain.

“I hope this isn’t rude but you kind of…  _stand out _ _._ I just thought, maybe it’d be a good idea to disguise yourself. Just for safety. Is that okay?” You hoped there was no offense taken by the gesture. In truth, you were glad Vision was going with you and not just because of the money thing. You didn’t feel particularly safe walking the streets alone at night, especially when you didn’t know the area. But having Vision by your side made you feel nigh invincible. There was just the small issue of technically being wanted criminals.

He smiled, more to himself than anything. It was just strange, he thought, how concerned you were with his opinion. Of course he wasn’t offended. It was a smart idea. He chuckled a bit, although it was a strange action given his physical state. The motion of a laugh was there, his shoulders shuddering as any human’s would despite his lack of need to actually breathe, but there was no sound. It was one of those mannerisms that was ingrained in his programming, though he wasn’t sure quite where it came from. Not from Jarvis, certainly, since the AI had no physical form, and Ultron likely hadn’t been terribly focused on such gestures at the time of his creation. In reality, it was simply something he’d picked up on his own, even if he wasn’t aware of it.

You let out a breathy chuckle of your own as he took the clothes, glad to see he agreed with you wholeheartedly. He got dressed quickly, leaving only his face visible when he was done. Luckily, it was cold enough outside for him to get away with wearing gloves, a scarf and a hat. The clothes were a bit old-fashioned but in a professional way. The long wool coat and slacks in particular gave the impression of a scholarly type, perhaps even a professor. You couldn’t help but think it was a good look for him.

“Well don’t you look just dashing,” you teased. You’d found a coat for yourself as well, deciding your own jacket wasn’t going to be enough. You silently thanked whatever SHIELD employee set this place up for supplying a myriad of spare clothes. “Oh, one more thing.” You turned to the coat rack by the door, grabbing a scarf that had been left hanging there. “Just in case.”

You hesitated at the front door. Despite the fact that you were merely going to look for a convenience store or something similar, your anxiety spiked as though it were a dangerous mission. You could just imagine all the ways you could get caught. It was almost enough to make you stay here, slowly starving to death waiting for something to happen. Vision noticed your apprehension, however, and did the first thing that came to mind to soothe your worries. He gave you a warm smile, holding out a bent arm for you to take. He thought you might find the somewhat old-fashioned gesture funny and he was right. You laughed, taking his arm anyway. It was a nice reminder that the odds of anything bad happening were tremendously low, which you mentally repeated to yourself as you stepped outside.

-

Everything had gone off without a hitch. There was a small grocery store a few blocks down which you’d run into just before closing time so the store was nearly empty. Vision had waited outside near the ATM, which had provided the funds you needed. Other than the bored clerk at the store, you hadn’t seen so much as a single soul this whole trip. By the time you and Vision were walking back, burdened by just a few days worth of groceries (which would ideally be more than enough), your previous worries had all but melted away.

You only wished the weather matched the feeling. Nothing was melting in this cold. In fact, a few snowflakes had begun to fall. They were almost mesmerizing under the blueish haze of the streetlights, whipped into a frenzy by the faintest of gusts. The sight wasn’t enough of a distraction, however. You couldn’t help it when a shiver wracked your body, your coat not doing nearly enough to prevent it. Vision noticed this, however, and stopped you both in your tracks.

He was quick to reach for the paper and pen in his coat pocket, a look on his face of more concern than you thought necessary. It was only a little chill.  “ _Are you cold?_ ”  The question wasn’t particularly necessary, the answer being obvious. Still, it was polite to ask.

You tried to shrug it off, noticeably tensing to suppress a second shiver. “I’m fine. Let’s just hurry back.” You turned to keep walking, knowing there was still a decent walk ahead but he stopped you, putting a hand on your arm for the briefest of seconds. He just looked at you a moment, seeming to forget about his paper. You caught the faintest hint of conflict in his expression, though you didn’t know why. “What is it, Vision?”

Realizing he’d made you worry, Vision seemed to snap back to his senses. He gave you a reassuring smile and reached for his scarf, undoing it quickly. You were facing him, standing close enough to see the circuitry in his eyes. He paused again, however, debating his next action. For a being that didn’t have nerves, he sure felt nervous and didn’t fully understand why. He moved at a pace far slower than he was used to, hesitantly wrapping the scarf around your neck for you. His touch was light as a feather as if he were afraid to touch you. You could do nothing but watch him, lost in the details of his eyes and face as your grip on the grocery bags began to loosen involuntarily.There was a moment where neither of you moved, his hands still lingering on the loose fabric of the scarf.

Your heart skipped a beat at the gesture, mind racing to find a logical conclusion that didn’t concern such things as the vague and confusing emotions that spiked in your chest just then. It was cold, so Vision gave you his scarf. Your hands were full, so he put it on for you. But what you couldn’t answer was why he lingered the way that he did and more importantly, why your chest began to feel tight in a way that wasn’t as unpleasant as you’d think. The most sensible reason you could think of was that he was simply a gentleman, and perhaps a little unfamiliar with personal boundaries. That was the only possibility you had the strength to consider. Anything else would open doors you were afraid to even imagine.

Footsteps scraping heavily against the pavement cut the tender, if rather nerve-filled moment short. You turned toward the sound, though Vision remained facing slightly away, bowing his head somewhat in an attempt to conceal himself. You froze when a figure emerged from the alleyway; a heavy-set man whose posture listed to one side, most likely from some kind of injury. His clothes were noticeably old and ragged, most definitely not warm enough for this weather. You would’ve asked him if he needed help were it not for the knife he brandished at you.

“Look, I don’t want any trouble,” he said, his voice wavering. Funny, you were just about to say the same thing. Clearly, he wouldn’t be doing this unless he was desperate and in a bad situation. Unfortunately, you weren’t much better off. “I saw you, I know you have cash. Just hand it over and no one gets hurts.”

Under normal circumstances you would’ve complied but you’d used up pretty much all the cash you got and you couldn’t risk giving him your wallet. If your ID found its way into police hands there’d be government agents swarming this place before you ever got the chance to bail. “We don’t have any money left, I swear. Please, just walk away.” You moved slowly, setting the grocery bags on the ground and raising your hands in surrender without making any sudden movements that could set him off. You weren’t as afraid as you probably should’ve been, choosing to try and reason with the man rather than flee, which would probably be the smarter option.

The man stepped closer to you, his grip on the knife visibly tightening. He was nearly within arm’s reach now which wasn’t ideal but you held your ground. Vision caught the man’s movement out of the corner of his eye, his hand reflexively grabbing at your arm protectively. The man furrowed his brow, glancing between the two of you in confusion. At this distance, even without Vision facing him, he could almost definitely tell something was strange here. Having given you his scarf, the only things covering Vision’s face were a hat and upturned coat collar. You spoke up again, drawing the man’s attention before he could get too close of a look. “This doesn’t have to get messy. _Please_ … ”

You weren’t sure exactly how long the three of you stood there, time frozen around you. The only things that moved were the snowflakes that had grown more frequent in the past couple minutes. The man finally shifted, albeit barely, one foot scraping harshly against the concrete as he braced himself. He glanced between you and Vision again, jaw clenched tightly. “I ain’t walking away empty-handed. I can’t. Just gimme your damn wallet.”

Vision tugged gently on your arm. You weren’t sure exactly what he was trying to say, either trying to pull you closer to him or signal that you should run. You didn’t think running was a good idea. You feared Vision’s injuries acting up again and you didn’t want to test your own speed either. You turned back to the man, desperately pleading at this point. “I can’t …”

“Then I’ll just have to take it from you.” He didn’t give you another chance to argue, immediately lunging at you haphazardly. He couldn’t even get close to hitting you, however, as Vision’s reflexes were far superior to the man’s. The android grabbed his arm, twisting it painfully to the side and forcing him to drop the knife. The man yelped and threw a punch at Vision, who dodged it easily. The man didn’t seem to understand just how drastically outmatched he was, not even now that he had a clear view of Vision’s face. Whatever was going through his head, he still seemed to think fighting was his best option. He took another swing at Vision who, up until this point, had no intention of fighting back. But he was left with few other options. He pushed back against his attacker, sending the man sprawling to the ground with a painful ‘ _smack_ ’ as he hit the pavement. There was genuine fear in his eyes when he looked back up at the two of you.

“Vis, we gotta go.” It was you holding his arm now, pleading with him to leave. He nodded quickly, completely in agreement. The two of you paused only long enough to scoop up the dropped grocery bags before making your escape. The man didn’t dare follow you as you disappeared down a side street, desperate to avoid any more prying eyes. This was the exact sort of thing you’d been afraid of when you’d left the safe house. You could only hope the man kept his mouth shut about what he’d witnessed tonight but it seemed luck may not be on your side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to mention that I don’t personally know much ASL and had to rely on videos, etc. so if anything at all is wrong, I apologize. Feel free to call me out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want everyone who comments to know that I love you all, whether I reply or not! It's thanks to y'all that I'm still inspired! <3

“That’s ‘question.’”

Vision shook his head.

“That’s... ‘you?’”

Another head shake. This time he repeated the motion, gesturing at you with a bent index finger.

“You’re sure it’s not ‘question?’” You sighed dejectedly, once again reaching the point in the lesson that became frustrating. After awhile, it always felt like your brain was short-circuiting, refusing to focus on the matter at hand any longer.

Vision gave you a sympathetic look, smiling gently with his head tilted slightly. He knew that _you_ knew what the gesture was, you were just losing focus. He hadn’t missed the way you’d started fidgeting with your hands a few minutes ago. He just wanted to get through this one last word, just so you weren’t giving up. _“Watch me,”_ he signed, pausing with eyebrows raised to confirm you understood.

“Watch you. Got it.” That sign was simple enough. You forced yourself to pay attention only to him. As much as you wanted to take a break, you also knew these lessons were important. Vision signed a few words in succession, one of which was the previous sign that you had failed to guess. However, you _did_ recognize most of the rest, knowing that he was signifying a command and recognizing when he indicated to himself.

“I... something...” You translated the words as he repeated the phrase for you, slowly this time. Suddenly, the sentence clicked into place all at once, your face lighting up and you excitedly repeated it. “Oh! It’s ‘ask me something!’ Ha! That’s what you were signing. The word I didn’t get was ‘ask.’”

You couldn’t help the sense of pride you felt when Vision smiled at you, practically beaming. You felt like a kid that had just done well on a test. Well, it _was_ a test, of sorts _._ It may be a little childish but you were proud of your newfound skills. Vision was proud of you too, which he made abundantly clear. He would praise how much progress you’d made in the short time since beginning your lessons. It had only been a few days but you were able to communicate with each other in sign language fairly often, at least with brief, simple phrases. You resorted back to the old ‘pen and paper’ method for actual conversation.

Despite your small triumph, you were still tired of the quizzing. Better to end on a high note, you figured. You got up from your end of the sofa with a groan, legs aching slightly from your refusal to sit properly. You stretched your arms wide, turning your neck carefully until you felt that faint ‘pop’ as your aches and pains began to fade away. “I think that’s enough for tonight,” you said, turning toward the hall.

You made your way upstairs to the bedroom with the intention of finding your jacket. Well, technically it was a jacket that you’d found in the closet yesterday but it was yours now. You couldn’t find it immediately on opening the folding door of the closet, rifling through the surprising amount of clothes hung there. Whatever Shield agent stocked this place really had a field day with the wardrobe. They definitely planned for this place to get more use. Who knows, maybe it did once upon a time. But now all these sweatshirts and jackets were yours for the choosing. Something distracted you from your search, however. There was a shelf above your head which you had yet to pay much mind to. It had seemed empty before. But when you glanced further back, you noticed the edge of something square.

You stepped back to get a better look, realizing that it wasn’t one, but _two_ somethings. Two unlabeled boxes sat alone, pushed clear to the back of the shelf for some reason. You got up on the tips of your toes, grasping at the boxes just out of reach. Your swiping dislodged nearly a solid inch of dust, the cloud sending you into a violent sneezing fit. But once that was out of the way, you returned to the task at hand. The shelf creaked under your grip but you were so close. _Just... a little bit... further._

Vision looked up from his book when he heard a heavy _thud_ from upstairs. He paused, debating whether to rush to your aid. He didn’t hear you shout or swear, however, so you were most likely fine. His concern shifted quickly to intrigue when you returned downstairs, arms laden with boxes. He set aside the book he hadn’t been particularly interested in anyway, much more invested in this new turn of events.

“Vision! Guess what I found,” you said, drawing out the last word in a sing-song voice. The boxes were heavier than you’d anticipated and nearly sent you toppling when you’d called out to Vision. You righted yourself, catching sight of Vision grinning to himself. You dropped the boxes by him on the counter where he was leaning, quickly revealing your newfound treasure before he even had a chance to guess at your rhetorical question.

“Records! And a bunch of them, too.” You began thumbing through the old vinyl, the edges of the cases worn and colors faded. Clearly they had been well-loved at one point, probably long before being brought here. You withdrew one that caught your eye, holding it away from you to get a good look. “What do you think?”

Rather than responding (via sign or pen), Vision slowly browsed the records as well. He seemed equally intrigued, though he didn’t show his excitement in the same way you did. You were just happy he was interested, however. You had worried Vision may not... _appreciate_ music as much. Even when you’d been in the car, he only seemed to pick music he thought _you_ would like. He never bopped his head or tapped his foot to the beat. You didn’t want to assume it was android thing but, well, that _was_ the first thing that came to mind. Luckily, it now seemed like you were wrong in that assumption.

You were so focused on Vision for a moment, you nearly forgot the second box. “Oh, and this too.” You slid the box closer, brushing off the dust from on top. This one was different, fully enclosed with a latch on one side and hinges on the back. Fighting with the old latch for a moment, the metal having not been touched in years, you practically threw open the lid.

“Ta-da! We even have a record player!” The insides of the thing were in surprisingly good shape. The case had protected it from the dust and whoever the previous owner was had taken good care of the machine.

You let Vision take hold of the record player, inspecting it just as you had done. He checked it over, equally impressed by the state it was in. The arm for the stylus looked good, the turntable seemingly untouched, even the needle was intact. It was the sort of thing collectors today would love to get their hands on.

“You think it still works?” You raised an eyebrow, able to tell by Vision’s expression that he couldn’t say for sure. You glanced around the living space, quickly spotting an open outlet. “Why don’t we try it?”

He shrugged and handed it over. You hurried over to the wall, placing the delicate device gently on the end table. The record player definitely pre-dated the building but fortunately it looked like everything was built-in that you needed to play it. You just had to plug it in. Nothing burst into flames when you did, so that was a good sign. Now to test it. You turned back to Vision. “You pick a disc.”

He looked genuinely surprised for a moment but did as you said. He browsed briefly before making his choice. The disc he handed you was one of the more worn-looking ones in the box, the casing even torn in places. On the cover was a woman in an old-fashioned black dress, from the 30’s or 40’s if you had to guess. Her hair was done up in a style from the time and she was smiling, maybe even laughing. She looked genuinely happy.

You set aside the case gently before inspecting the vinyl record, spinning it a few times between your hands. There wasn’t any damage as far as you could tell so you went ahead and set it up. As you did so, Vision appeared at your side. You stepped back as the disc began to spin, a soft crackling filling the air.

For a few moments, that crackling was all you heard. Your heart dropped and you tried not to let it show but just as Vision seemed ready say something (or rather, sign it), a few tinkling notes spilled from the old record. Your excitement returned full-force as the song kicked in. It was crackly and skipped a bit at first but the music was there. It’s funny, you used to make fun of your grandparents when they said records just ‘sounded better.’ But in a way, they were right. It was a cheesy sort of sentiment but it was true. The haziness of the old tune, as if the woman’s voice was reaching you directly from decades past, just felt _right._ Perhaps it was the isolation getting to you, but this was the most entertaining thing to happen since you’d gotten here.

You began to sway to the music, tapping your foot and nodding your head along with the slow rhythm. Once you’d more or less picked up the tune, you began to hum along. Vision leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, perfectly content where he was. Normally you didn’t like people seeing you dance, not that this was really _dancing,_ but you didn’t mind if it was him. The things the two had been through, you weren’t worried about such a trivial little thing. In fact, you felt braver than ever.

“Dance with me, Vision.” You extended a hand to your friend, too at ease with the dreamy music to feel anxious at all. You could almost forget what a dire situation you were in, hiding away in a safe house, at least for now.

Vision shook his head, sheepishly patting his leg in an effort to pass off his injuries as an excuse but the message didn’t quite get across. You laughed, not _at_ him but simply into the air, your voice clear as a bell. He realized this was the first time he’d seen you _actually_ having a good time. This was what you were _really_ like, the side of you that didn’t have to worry about things like being shot at or arrested. Your movements became a little more energetic and you held out your hand again, more insistent this time. “Oh come on, Vis. What, androids don’t dance?”

In a sense, that was true. Although, it wasn’t that he _couldn’t_ dance, he just... hadn’t. It had never come up. After the incident with Ultron, Tony Stark had all but stopped hosting parties. There’d been a couple but Vision had always stayed off to the side, if he was even in attendance at all. He didn’t dance. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t try. After all, it was a quintessential human activity.

“Now we’re talking.” You stepped it up a bit when Vision finally relented and took your hand. You quickly grabbed his other hand, swinging his arms with yours in time with the smooth lilting tones of the saxophone. He looked like an awkward middle schooler at their first homecoming, the mere idea of which sending you into a giggle fit. But you kept dancing, leading him around the living room while the woman’s voice sang of sunshine and days gone by.

By the time the song switched over, Vision seemed much more comfortable. He took a step closer to you, tapping his foot and matching your movements. You got braver as you really let loose. You let go of one his hands and raised the other over your heads, doing a little spin that almost made you trip. You simply laughed and took his hands again. Every time you laughed, every time you smiled at him, he feared he may lose his footing. He had perfect rhythm, of course, but it seemed that glitch from earlier had returned. That little stutter, like a line of code missing an inconsequential 1 or 0. He still didn’t know what it was.

The song changed again, the faint tinkling of the piano now accompanying a slower melody. The two of you inadvertently pulled closer as you slowed to match the new pace of the music.

_“I’ll find you in the morning sun.”_

You couldn’t tell if it was a sad song or not. The woman sang of an old love, much in line with the rest of what you’d heard. But now there was a bittersweetness, a sense of longing. At first you thought she was saying goodbye to a lover but that didn’t seem quite right. She was speaking to someone who was already gone, reminiscing about them. But one thing was certain by the hint of hopefulness in her voice. She would see them again.

_“And when the night is new,”_

You didn’t realize how close the two of you were now, swaying in tandem with the music. You’d fallen into your own sort of waltz, swept away by the lull of the touching ballad. A tiny little voice in the back of your mind was telling you to stop, that you were crossing a line. But Vision showed no aversion to what was happening, so why should you? It was just dancing. There was nothing wrong. So you let those worries fall aside once more, instinctually adjusting your hold on his hands so your fingers were intertwined. Your steps came easy as the final chorus reached its peak.

_“I’ll be looking at the moon, but I’ll be seeing you.”_

A buzz startled you out of your rhythm, sharp and loud. You quickly rushed over to the record player and lifted the needle, panic rising in your throat. You shot a look at the front door before the buzz sounded again. It was the pager for the front door. Through the speaker system, a voice called out. “Hello? It’s the police, I just need to ask a few questions.”

You locked eyes with Vision who was also noticeably concerned. “What do we do?!”You whispered harshly, though there was no way you could hide. The officer had _definitely_ heard the music, even from outside.

Vision had to act fast. He didn’t have time to write out a response. He quickly gestured from himself to the ceiling, planning to hide upstairs. Then he pointed from you to the door, hoping you’d get the message. You nodded firmly and off he went.

You paused at the door, giving him a few seconds to hide. Hopefully, it was enough. The voice was louder now. You held the button to respond, trying to keep your voice from shaking. “I’ll buzz you in, officer.”

You did as you’d said, listening to the muffled sound of the building’s front door open. You took a deep breath, putting on the most uninterested expression you could before finally opening the apartment door.

“Ah, good evening. Sorry if I’m interrupting something. You were the only resident to answer the door.” The officer looked mildly surprised, as if not expecting anyone to answer at all. He wasn’t especially intimidating, at least not by police standards. Didn’t mean you weren’t still nervous. Luckily, you’d gotten pretty good at lying to authority figures.

“Oh yeah, sometimes those buzzers don’t work. And it’s no trouble, really. I was just listening to music.” You shook your head casually. Technically it wasn’t a lie. That was the trick to getting away with lying; don’t actually lie. Just be extremely careful with your wording. It had worked for you in the past.

The officer’s eyes darted somewhere behind you for a second but he otherwise didn’t acknowledge it. “Ah, yes, I could hear that. Well I just need to ask a few questions. Uhm...” He gestured to the room behind you, silently asking if he could come inside.

You acted as if the request had gone totally over your head and made it perfectly clear you weren’t moving. You leaned on the door frame and crossed your arms, making yourself comfortable. The last thing you wanted was him coming inside. You never, _ever_ let a cop in your house if you can help it, especially when you’re a wanted criminal harboring another wanted criminal, of course. “No problem. I’ve got time.”

The hallway of the old apartment building was cold but not nearly as much as outside. Still, you could tell that when Vision had reset the heating, it only applied to this one unit. Now you wished you hadn’t gotten so side-tracked looking for your jacket. Actually, you wished there wasn’t a police officer at your door at all.

“Yes, well,” he cleared his throat. Everything about his mannerisms practically screamed ‘newby.’ It was almost comical, over-the-top even. Something wasn’t right. He seemed less like any cop you’d ever interacted with and more like a one on TV written by someone who’s never done actual police work. He spoke like he was reading a script. “We received report of an assault the other night just down the street and the assailants described by the victim matched the profiles of a couple of escapees in the area. They’re very dangerous individuals so we’re just going around giving folks a warning, asking if they’ve seen anything, that sort of thing. _You_ haven’t seen anything suspicious lately, have you?”

You did your best to maintain a neutral expression as you slowly shook your head. “No officer, I haven’t. I stay inside a lot.” Something was definitely wrong here. First of all, you highly doubted that the man who’d attacked you the other night would’ve gone to the police. Secondly, this type of neighborhood must see incidents like this fairly often so it was weird to investigate like this. And if the police here were looking for you and Vision specifically, then he should recognize you. You weren’t exactly in disguise and your old workplace had the photo of you from your ID badge. You’d have to talk to Vision about all this but first you had to get rid of this guy.

You were mentally going through excuses but there was no need. The officer stepped back with a polite smile, if just a bit forced. “Well then, I recommend you continue staying inside. And if you see anything, don’t hesitate to call the station.” He turned to leave and you caught his smile quickly dropping. He’d given up almost _too_ easily. He’d barely even asked you anything. You’d pass it off as shoddy police work but your gut was telling you something else. You didn’t take your eyes off him until he was out of the building completely. Once he was, you practically dashed back inside.

Vision was already halfway down the stairs when you reached them. “I assume you heard everything?” Not that you really needed to ask. He nodded and you let out a shaky sigh, turning back towards the living room. You ran your hands through your hair nervously, not even noticing when your nails dug into your scalp. Everything was unraveling so quickly. “That was weird, right? Something was wrong about his whole... deal.”

While you’d begun rambling, Vision had found his pen and paper and was already frantically writing. _“That wasn’t a real officer.”_

“Well that’s no surprise but who was he? He couldn’t have been Shield, could he? Maybe he heard the signal?” You were trying to be optimistic but even you knew it was pointless. Whatever that guy wanted, it wasn’t to help you.

_“I recognized his voice. Back in the lab, they brought in specialists. I don’t know who he was exactly but he was there.”_

This was news to you. Very, very _bad_ news. “You’re absolutely sure?”

Vision just nodded firmly.

Your panic had been dialed up to 11 by this point. You were pacing back and forth across the living room, barely able to put a full sentence together. “He had to recognize me. _Had_ to. But why didn’t he do anything? He’s waiting for backup. That’s it. What do we do— no, I know what we do, obviously. We have to leave, right now.” You turned back to Vision but he had already crossed the room to you. He grabbed your arms to steady you, halting your frantic pacing. He didn’t let go until you took a deep breath, at least slightly calmed down.

_“Cant leave,”_ he wrote. _“Not until someone responds to the signal.”_

“We don’t have a choice, Vision. If— no— _when_ he brings backup, it’s not going to be police. It’ll be the _army._ I’ll be arrested if I’m lucky and you’ll be taken again.” You were getting emotional, you knew that, but Vision had to understand. He was the smartest person in the world, surely he didn’t actually think you could stay, right?

_“We can’t keep running. There’s nowhere else to go where they won’t eventually find us. Our only hope is the other Avengers.”_ He tried to say more but you stopped him, grabbing his hand with the pen.

“Vision, _please._ If they catch you again, you know what they’ll do this time? They’ll destroy you, Vis. They’ll _kill_ you.” You grasped his hand in both of yours, pleading with him at this point. He had to understand the risks here.

And in truth, he did. He was smart enough to know that there was a not-insignificant chance of capture if you stayed here. And more so, he knew what could happen to him. His captors would make for sure this time that he couldn’t escape, even at the cost of damaging their prize. And your fate, well... it wouldn’t be much better. He couldn’t allow that. But he really didn’t know where else to go.

Just then, you were interrupted again, this time by a voice. It was a man’s voice and for a split-second, you thought the ‘officer’ had returned already. But it only took a second to realize it was coming from the office. It was a man’s voice, calling out urgently but not aggressively. Someone was responding to your signal.

You and Vision shared a look as you both realized what was happening before practically sprinting to the computer, your hand never leaving Vision’s until he was inputting commands into the terminal. You watched him type with incredible speed, the keys _‘click-clacking’_ furiously when the voice spoke again.

“Hello, is anyone there? Can anyone read me? We received your distress call, Code 365-E79. This is Captain Rogers, I repeat, do you read me?”

“It’s Cap!?” You aimed the question at Vision but he didn’t respond, still frantically trying to work the computer. The signal seemed shaky, the Captain’s message only barely coming through the static. He was trying to stabilize the connection. As Rogers was repeating his message, the audio suddenly seemed to clear, his voice coming through even louder than before. Vision would’ve laughed in relief if he were able to.

“I repeat, can you hear me? Please confirm.” Vision’s relief quickly disappeared, however, when he realized there was a new problem. _He_ couldn’t respond. But you could. He tried to get that point across to you, gesturing between his throat to signify his injury, the computer, and you.

“Wait, can he hear me?” You asked, suddenly weirdly nervous.

Vision shook his head and gestured to a key on the keyboard, holding it down a moment and miming talking. Oh, if only you’d gotten a little further with the sign language, this would be easier. But you still got the message at least.

You traded places with him, taking a seat in front of the computer. You held down the button as you spoke, loud and clear. You imagined the microphone built into this thing wasn’t the best quality. “Yes, yes! We’re here! We hear you!”

There was a moments delay where you were afraid he couldn’t hear you but soon the voice of the indomitable Captain America came through the speakers once again. You could almost break down laughing from sheer relief but you weren’t in the clear just yet. “Alright, who is this? Who gave you access to this network?”

You kept looking to Vision for advice but there wasn’t much he could do. He just encouraged you to keep taking. “Uh, right. Long story, uh— well I’m here with Vision—“

“Vision’s alive? How?” His voice was rife skepticism. It was clear he didn’t believe you, and rightfully so. But there wasn’t time to tell the whole story.

“It’s really a lot to get into right now but the point is, we’re in a lot of trouble. We’re in a safe house that’s not exactly safe anymore. We’re almost positive they’ve figured out we’re here.”

He cut you off. “If Vision’s really there, let me talk to him.”

You were afraid this would happen, though you certainly weren’t surprised. You’d just have to do your best to explain. “Yeah, about that— he’s still pretty hurt. He can’t speak, like at all. We only escaped a few days ago and it’s not like we have the tech here to help him.”

“You realize I have no reason to believe you, right?” He was right, dammit. Of course he was.

“What do I say?” You half-whispered to Vision who was frantically looking for his pen and paper again. While he did, you turned your attention back to the Captain, afraid he would disconnect if you didn’t explain yourself quickly. “Okay just— just hang on. He’s writing. Vis what’s— is there anything only you and the Avengers would know?”

He scoured his memory banks for something important, some fact that Steve Rogers would certainly remember. There wasn’t much about Vision that was known to the general public but all it took was a little digging. What he settled on was definitely something memorable. _“I can wield Mjolnir.”_

This was news to you. You knew of Thor’s legendary hammer that could only be lifted by the truly worthy. It was kind of his whole schtick. “Wait, you can? Really?”

Vision made a face, gesturing for you to move on. There’d be time for this later. You snapped back to the task at hand and addressed the Captain once more, recalling the urgency of the situation. “Right, anyway. He says to tell you he can wield Mi— Me-onja— mewna—mir— Thor’s hammer, dammit!”

There was a heavy silence as Captain Rogers contemplated this answer. You silently begged for him to accept that but it seemed your luck was wearing thin. “Sorry,” he said. “I’m going to need more than that. All you’d need to figure that out is security footage from Sokovia. I want to believe you, I do, but you understand the situation I’m in here.”

Even Vision wanted to be upset but he was also reasonable. The Avengers were in hiding, that much had been made clear to him. It was a huge risk just for the Captain to answer the call, let alone agree to a rescue. But if the two of you could prove your story was true, Vision knew that Steve would do everything in his power to help. He needed something different, something _personal._ Oh… now _that_ brought back memories. Specifically, of a time when everyone on the team was closer and still spent most of their time at the compound.

_“Your legal birthday is July 4th, 1918 because that’s what you told a young fan while touring in 1942 and it somehow wound up on your documentation. The only one who knows your real birthday is Sergeant Barnes, despite Tony’s insisting.”_ That was definitely something only an Avenger would know.

After a moment of stunned silence, you read this back to Captain Rogers, unable to help adding your own little commentary. “Wait, is this real? Although, in hindsight, I suppose it _was_ pretty unlikely Captain America’s birthday would fall on Independence Day.”

You heard a heavy sigh, loud enough to make the speaker crackle at the sound. “Look, when I woke up in 2011, a lot of documents had to be remade and by that point, July 4th had become the official day in the history books. I didn’t have the heart to tell people it was wrong, okay?”

You resisted snickering, reminding yourself that this was _the_ Captain America. Not only was he a hero (or war-criminal depending on who you asked), but he was kind of holding your fate in the palm of his hands right now. It was best you stayed on his good side.

“Alright,” he continued. “I believe you. But listen, we can’t just come get you, not right away. It’ll take time. Thing here aren’t exactly… well, let’s just say we’ve been better. The Quinjet is sort of out-of-commission right now. How long can you hold out?”

“We’d be lucky to make it through the day. There was an…incident. Pretty sure the government knows we’re here. It’s just a matter of how long it takes them to round up reinforcements.” You shared a nervous look with Vision. At this point, you had two options: keep running or get rescued by the Avengers. And with the latter now having even more complications, well… it was beginning to not look like a choice at all.

“There’s no way we could get to you in time. You’ll have to keep moving for a few days.” Rogers only confirmed your thoughts.

“Where are we supposed to go? We leave this house and we won’t be able to contact you anymore.”

“We’ll meet you in the middle, somewhere safe that’s closer to where we are. I’ll send over coordinates. Think you can get there in– I don’t know– four days?” A notice popped up on the screen which Vision quickly tended to. The message needed decrypting but it was just as the Captain had said– coordinates.

_“That’s over halfway across the country. We have to avoid major interstates and tolls, probably change cars partway. But, barring any major incidents, it should be doable. Difficult, but doable.”_ Vision had his doubts but he kept them mostly to himself. He intended to remain optimistic, as was in his nature. Another trait he’d picked up from humanity, perhaps.

“Vision says we can make it but… you’re sure there’s not somewhere closer we can meet?” Not to sound ungrateful by any means but you feared you may not make it four days before you were tossed in a cell, likely never to be heard from again. Still, Vision’s fate scared you more. The longer you remained on the run, the closer that fate was to becoming reality.

“I’m afraid not. There’s not a lot of places left that are safe. I’m sorry.” The Captain’s voice had lost some of its confidence, its bravado, now replaced by worry. Worry for his teammate, for his _friend._ The whole team had felt Vision’s loss, each blaming themselves in their own ways. But if there was even a _chance_ to make things right, even if your story turned out to be fake, they all owed it to Vision to try.

You wanted nothing more than to go back to a few hours earlier, when the biggest thing you had to worry about was remembering the difference between signing the words ‘ask’ and ‘question.’ Or to even more recently, standing in the middle of the living room, Vision’s hand in yours while the staticky sounds of a worn-out old record fizzled out all of your worries. Or perhaps it wasn’t the music that had brought such a feeling. No, it definitely wasn’t, you could admit that much to yourself. It was Vision. You could almost picture staying here indefinitely, just you and your android friend for company. Why did that have to sound so nice? Old records, old building, new companion. But unfortunately, the world was bigger than just the two of you. There were other forces to contend with.

“Alright, four days. We’ll be there.” You’d saved Vision once, whether out of bravery or stupidity, you didn’t know. But a different feeling motivated you now. Or, not different, maybe, but _evolved._ Whatever it was, your decision remained the same. The two of you had made it this far, you could make it a bit longer. All it would take was a little road trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a surprisingly hard time coming up with something personal for Steve. The thing about his birthday isn’t canon btw, I just think it would be funny.


End file.
